Star Wars: Towers of Judgement
by JennaScribbles
Summary: Mysterious ruins, locked away even by the Sith. Recollections of a past life haunt a young Padawan, who has now left the safety of her training with her Master on Kamino and has joined Master Obi-Wan Kenobi at his side. What is the connection between the Padawan's nightmares and these ruins? What happened? Why were they locked away? Rated M for language and dark themes.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hello and Welcome! You've made it across a Galaxy far far away and found your way here! I'm honored you chose my story to read. This story is set during the Clone Wars. Some of the chapters may reflect the episodes, while other chapters may simply hint at some.

I hope you all enjoy! Criticisms and Comments are welcome!

A single candle lit up the darkened room.

A figure could be seen, hands outstretched, trying to navigate the room blindly. Another figure was in the room as well, silently stepping around and away from the figure.

"Focus. Discipline your mind," a voice said, female and heavy with a Togrutan accent. The second figure continued to move around the room deftly, moving an object constantly. The figure in the center of the room, a shorter, younger female, with a blindfold on, grunted with frustration.

"Calm yourself."

"I know, Master."

"But you are not doing it."

"It's a little difficult to do that when you can't see," the younger voice replied sarcastically, continuing her exercise.

"But Padawan, you can't see anything when you're asleep. Are you not calm then?" the Master replied.

"So I should just fall asleep?" the young voice quipped back. The Master, who had continuously been moving around the room, moved in and gave her Padawan a gentle flick of her finger on the forehead, an affectionate gesture between the two of them. The girl smiled and focused on her exercise again.

"Remember. Use the Force. Let it reveal to your mind's eye what your real eyes cannot see. Let it reveal to you the sounds that your ears cannot hear. Heighten your senses. I believe in you, Padawan. For when you have gained mastery over this…" For a few more moments, Master and Padawan continued their odd dance, until finally, the younger reached out and grasped her Master's robes, halting her process.

"Gotcha!" She cried as she pulled her blindfold off triumphantly, only to reveal that she was holding just that; her Master's robes.

"You will be one step closer to gaining mastery over self," the Master finished, turning on the lights and blowing out the candle. The Padawan groaned and held out the robes for her Master to don.

"I really thought I had you that time," she pouted under the veil. The taller woman gave a serene smile as she donned her robes.

"You almost did. You are learning quickly, young Padawan."

A muted beep informed them that someone was outside, seeing permission to enter.

"Enter."

A clone trooper entered, however his armor was different than the rest; rather than the standard white armor, his armor was painted, and he wore a single pauldron over his left shoulder. His helmet, too, was painted, featuring jaig eyes over the horizontal visor.

"Rex!" Navonod cried, smiling at the familiar armor.

"Hello Commander. General Plo Koon would like to see you, sir," Rex replied, standing stock still. He was in front of a general, and had to act appropriately. Both Jedi appreciated him for his attention to protocol.

"At ease, trooper. Relax," Shaak Ti said, gesturing for him to walk beside her. Together, the three of them made their way to the Holo Conference room.

"Sorry sir, still getting used to the idea of other Jedi. I've only worked with three so far," Rex said conversationally. Navonod could feel that he was considerably more relaxed. In a way she understood; the first time she'd ever met a Jedi, she was very intimidated. She could imagine the soldiers were a little intimidated too, but they weren't allowed to show it.

"Who were they?" she asked, waving to some other troopers she recognized.

"Sir, General Skywalker, General Kenobi, and Commander Tanno," Rex replied as he walked. He glanced at her sideways from under his helm. He liked the way she was with the men, she was kind and seemed to genuinely want to get to know them. She reminded him a lot of Commander Tanno, just not as short. As they walked in comfortable silence, the Jedi Padawan turned to look at him, a smile on her face. Perhaps she could sense him watching her, perhaps not. He had learned to not question the ways of the Jedi long ago. Master Shaak Ti walked slightly ahead of them, smiling to herself at their friendly interaction.

"I believe we've arrived, Captain Rex," Shaak Ti said after a few minutes of silent walking, turning to the Trooper.

"Of course, General. I'll wait out here if you need me," Rex said, turning his back to the door and standing to its side with his arms crossed. Navonod gave his shoulder a pat as she entered, the door hissing shut behind her.

They had just walked in on part of a conversation;Plo Koon was discussing plans for meeting with the Toydarian King.

"I don't think it's a good idea to send anyone that far out."

"But we need Toydaria as a base. We could offer them protection."

"Something tells me Count Dooku will be doing the same."

"It cannot be ignored; Toydaria is an important planet. If either side gets control of the planet, they'll have control of that entire sector. We need to be careful. We cannot risk losing valuable resources."

"Go, I will. With the Toydarian King, I must meet. Ready to drop out of Hyperspace, the troops and supply ships must be. Join us they can, if the meeting goes well, hmm?"

The rest of the meeting was short, mostly just bullet points that had to be discussed. It ended soon after, and Shaak Ti turned to her student.

"Come, my Padawan. Sit with me," Shaak Ti said, her eyes closed as she sat down on a cushion. The Padawan complied and settled into a meditative stance as well, but her eyes remained open. She had seen many a Togruta before, but even by those standards, Master Shaak Ti was quite beautiful. She couldn't help admire her Master's features. "

I can sense the turmoil in your mind. What has you so troubled?"

The Padawan was pulled from her musings and sighed. "I saw the vision again, Master."

"Your memory?"

"Yes. I know Master Yoda said that I won't be corrupted but…I'm afraid it will. And doesn't Master Yoda also say that fear is a path to the Dark Side? What if in my attempts to avoid becoming SIth, I end up pushing myself towards that path unknowingly? What if the same thing happens to me that happened to my previous life?"

Shaak Ti remained silent for a while, stock still but for her breathing. Her Padawan gulped in embarrassment and tried to focus on her own breathing, surprised at how much she'd said aloud. Perhaps this was affecting her more than she cared to admit.

"Navonod E'Gatsoh. Yours is a soul pure and righteous. You have the singularly unique opportunity of seeing things from two points of view, both of them your own. While we have the teachings of the Jedi Order, the massive stores of information in the Jedi Archives, you have the personal knowledge and experience of your past life, an invaluable tool," Shaak Ti opened her large eyes, smiling at her Padawan kindly.

"You will not be led astray, my Padawan," Shaak Ti added softly, widening her smile and straightening her stance again. "Now. Breathe, Navii, breathe."

Together the two remained in their meditative stances, not realizing how much time had passed. Navonod opened her eyes and found herself looking at her Master's still form. She certainly felt much better, and wanted to thank her Master for her help, but didn't want to interrupt her.

She took a breath, but shut her mouth and simply sat in silence. "You are welcome, my Padawan," Shaak Ti spoke, slight amusement in her voice, though her eyes remained closed. "Now go. Your friend awaits you."

"Rex! He hasn't moved this—Thank you, Master!" Navonod said hurriedly, standing up and straightening her robes before rushing out. Shaak Ti gave an amused smile and continued to meditate. While her Padawan needed to simply calm her mind, Shaak Ti could sense something much darker approaching and she needed to calm her mind enough to see through the fog of her vision.

Navonod stepped out of the room, finding Rex standing exactly the way she'd left him. "You've been here all this time?"

"I was going to wait here in case you needed me, sir. However long that may take," Rex said, straightening up to full height.

Navonod smiled at him and began to walk with him. "Well I can tell you're hungry!"

"I'm fine, sir. I'll go to the Mess hall later."

"Well, let's go together!"

"All due respect sir, but…we're just soldiers. Generals don't eat with their men."

"Well good thing, I'm not a General then, huh?" she quipped and, with a smile, began to walk to the mess hall. Rex watched her for a moment, smiling under his helmet, before catching up with her. Despite being some of the most powerful beings in the galaxy, the Jedi were so down to earth and simple that it never ceased to amaze him. Just this simple act of bonding with her troops, sharing a meal with them, did wonders for the men. For they were men, not clones, as the Jedi were so insistent on pointing out. Rex liked to think that it was that simple boost in morale that gave them the edge over the Droid army. Although having a few Jedi on your side certainly helped.

Together, they made their way to the mess hall, with Navonod asking Rex several questions about the war. Not the large details, but the little ones. Mainly about his operations, what sorts of missions he went on, what it was like in battle. Rex had questions of his own, but kept his mouth shut other than to answer her questions.

"I'm sorry, I've been interrogating you this whole time. You're welcome to ask me any questions you'd like," Navonod offered with a smile.

"Oh no, sir. I'm perfectly fine," Rex replied with a shake of his head. "Ours is not to question why."

"So you've never had any questions about the Jedi at all? None whatsoever?"

"No sir."

"I can sense you're lying, Rex." Navonod said seriously, stopping and crossing her arms, her brows furrowed. Rex froze and turned to look at her, his deer-in-headlights expression hidden behind his helmet.

"How?" he asked, after which Navonod immediately relaxed.

"You see? You do have questions," she said with a smirk, and Rex was glad for his helmet so she didn't see his eyeroll, though she was able to hear his chuckle. Damn Jedi and their mind tricks.

"Sir, I've been meaning to ask Generals Kenobi and Skywalker but, we're usually in the heat of battle so I never get around to it but…How does the Force work? I mean, I've heard General Kenobi say that the Force is in all living things. So…how come we as clones can't use it? Or does it get spread thin since we keep cloning again and again?"

"That's a very difficult question, Rex. One I'm not entirely sure I can answer. I'm not sure anyone can answer that, other than to say that the Force works in mysterious ways," Navonod offered helplessly. She thought for a moment as they entered the mess hall, but was torn from her musings at the sudden tenseness emanating from the troops, so much so that she could see a few of the closer ones still quite stiff and uncomfortable. Almost all conversation had died out, except for those furthest in the back.

Navonod decided to continue talking with Rex, hoping that she may spark conversation again. "Has anything ever happened to you? Something you couldn't explain? Something that seemed almost too fantastical to happen?"

Rex thought for a moment, standing behind her as she grabbed a platter and held it out for the cook to dish out her meal. "I've made one or two shots that I knew I wouldn't have been able to otherwise. I always thought I was just lucky."

"For some people, it's luck. But I like to think that it's the Force. The way I see it, if you hadn't made those shots, or if you hadn't narrowly avoided a trap or a bolt, you wouldn't be here for the rest of the war. General Skywalker and Commander Tanno, they wouldn't have you around to help them on missions."

"But they'd just replace me. I'm a clone, sir."

"They could find someone else to fill your position, but no one is irreplaceable. Think of it like your helmet. You've had it your whole life. It's been with you through so much. Now…if you had the chance to get a newer, cleaner helmet, would you?"

"No sir," Rex replied, almost too quickly. He knocked the side of his helmet lightly. "This one's been everywhere with me." Rex replied, the application of his answer only just dawning on him.

"Exactly. You've formed a connection with it, the same way General Skywalker and Commander Tanno have formed a connection with you. We value each and every one of the clones for everything they are, as individuals and as a team."

Though she had said it only to Rex, she hoped the rest of the clones had heard it. And judging by the sudden relaxation in the room, the collective held breath being released, she knew the clones had grown a little more accustomed to her.

"But, back to our original subject," Navonod said, settling down on a bench across from Rex. "Those fantastic events, those 'lucky' shots you made, they were the Force guiding your hand, helping you to accomplish something to set another series of events into action. At least, that's how I see it," she added, smiling at Rex. Rex reached up and finally took off his helmet, smiling in return. Together, the two friends dined, and Navonod felt a little more at peace with herself.

Navonod spent the next few months training with Master Shaak Ti, and standing alongside her Master during the graduation ceremonies every month, when brand new clones would finally be issued their armor, would finally be joining the war.

She was proud of them, not only the hard work that they'd put into their training, but also into the hard work that her Master had put into maintaining a training regimen. She knew Master Shaak Ti abhorred violence, as did all Jedi, but as Master Yoda once said:

"Not with ideals, wars are fought. Some things there are, which, give up we must, yes?"

And yet, despite the pride she felt in the soldiers, she couldn't help but feel a little sad, selfishly so. She knew it was wrong for a Jedi to want to go out and experience the war, to join in the fighting. And yet, with every passing month, as more and more recruits shipped out and left her behind, she couldn't help but feel just a little more useless. The most recent departure, just two weeks past, had been particularly tough on the young Padawan, as she had not only made several more friends in the new regiment, but Rex had also been ordered to ship out. Her frustration and loneliness were apparent, especially so to Master Shaak Ti.

She said nothing of it, at least not until Navonod failed to focus on her meditation for hardly even a minute.

"You are confused, my Padawan."

Navonod sighed and nodded, slumping slightly. She rested her hands in her lap, looking down dejectedly at her knees. "Yes, Master," she mumbled.

"What is on your mind?"

"Master I—I…I'm confused, Master."

"Oh?" Shaak Ti said, opening her eyes, giving her Padawan an amused smile. Navonod realized and cleared her throat to clarify.

"Yes I…Jedi don't fight, Jedi hate violence and war, right?"

"That is correct. We only fight for peace."

"But only when you have to. A Jedi shouldn't _want_ to fight, right?"

"Yes."

"But I do. I want to go out there and experience the war. Is this me subconsciously wanting to turn to the Dark Side? What if I'm becoming my past self again, becoming a Sith like she did?" Navonod asked, her expression filled with worry and fear.

Shaak Ti, who had been maintaining eye contact, broke it only to look down and think to consider her next words. She stood up and went to the window, her hands clasped behind her back as she gazed out at the never-ending storm on Kamino.

"That you are aware of your desires, and of the potentially dark path they may lead you on is a good sign that you won't go to the Dark Side. War is a terrible thing. Some say it is the very manifestation of the Dark Side. All of life's negative things are involved in it, stem from it, or are caused by it. Fear, fear of one's own death, or death of another, fear of losing, fear of failure, hatred for oneself, for one's actions during war, anger at the enemy's actions, these are all things that can lead us to the Dark Side. But…we must take care to understand that these things cannot be avoided. Like the waves crashing against this station, the best we can do is…ride out the storm and rise above it," Shaak Ti said with an encouraging smile, turning back to her pupil. Navonod remained seated, still slumped over and dejected.

"You will learn in due time, Padawan. Now, come. Walk with me."

The two left the darkened room, entering a wide hallway, squarish in shape and brightly lit with white lights. It was akin to a hospital than a training facility for soldiers.

"Master, why are we here?"

"To watch over the Clone Trooper development program."

"But why us? You're so strong, Master. You'd be so much better out there in the field!"

"Navii…" The Master began, using an affectionate name for her Padawan, but was cut off.

"No it's true! I've even heard some of the soldiers talking, they say you could run your own battalion!"

"Navii, I understand your passion. And I thank you for your kind words," she replied, pausing momentarily to let two Troopers pass by, both of whom saluted and continued on their way. "But I remain here to train the troops. If I was not here, who would train them?"

"Couldn't someone else do it?" the young Padawan replied, pouting slightly. The Master simply smiled.

"Whom would you suggest? Master Yoda is too old. Master Windu must remain on Coruscant to maintain the Jedi Council. Master Plo Koon already has his own battalion, as do Masters Ki Adi Mundi, Obi Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker."

"But…" she began to retort but saw no flaws in the logic. They both knew she was grasping at straws. "Okay…"

The Master bent her head down slightly, to try and meet her Padawan's gaze. Once she did so, she gave her an encouraging smile. "Be at peace, little one. I know you are anxious to get out in the field. Your time will come."

The Padawan gave a forlorn smile and nodded, and together the two continued on their way, though the Master could sense her Padawan's mood was still down. "I don't know what I'd do with my own Battalion anyway, I can hardly control my own Padawan, let alone a thousand troopers."

"Master!"

"Padawan?"

This earned a genuine smile from the young Padawan. "Go now. You have a little time to yourself before your class."

The young Padawan grinned and ran off, the Master watching her departure with a smile on her face. She turned back around to find herself face to face with a Clone Commander.

"General Shaak Ti, you requested my presence?"

"Yes, Captain. I was wondering if you would be so kind as to provide your input during my Padawan's class."

"Sir?"

"She has been running simulation courses for a while now, but in a few weeks will be her first live fire test. I need a soldier's eye to keep watch. You know these things better than I."

"That's very kind of you, Sir. I'd be honored. But if I may ask?"

"Go ahead, Captain."

"Why do you need me to watch the Commander?"

"Navonod has been my Padawan for quite some time now, Captain. I feel that, as a Jedi, she is ready. I need to know if she is ready from a solider's point of view as well."

"General. Are—Are you sure?"

"With your seal of approval, I will be."

Navonod's classes continued, and six weeks in, she was informed of her first live fire test.

Navonod found herself heading down to the mess hall. She quite liked spending her free time there. The soldiers had a wonderfully balanced sense of camaraderie and protocol, one that she was comfortable with. They weren't overly formal with her—unless Master Shaak Ti was around—because of her age, but they did treat her with respect because of her rank as a Jedi Padawan, which equated to Commander.

And although they were much older than her, she got along better with the adult clone troopers than with their younger cadet counterparts. As soon as she walked in, she grabbed a tray and got in line to get her food.

"Evening, Commander," a clone replied from behind counter. He took her tray and filled it up with the standard food he'd been giving everyone else. It wasn't anything tasty; the food for clones was designed to be as nutritious as possible. That meant leaving taste out of it. Still, they included some packets of seasoning for her to add on. "I gave you an extra cookie, Sir. Just keep it between us?" the cook said in a not so subtle whisper.

"Will do, Tee," she said with a smile. A few of the Clone Troopers behind them chuckled but otherwise said nothing. She moved on and found a table nearby. "Is this seat taken?"

"Not at all, Commander," the trooper replied. The others at the table stood up out of respect before she sat down. One of the troops began picking at his food.

"Alright, let's see what's on the menu today then, shall we? Let's see we got uhh…mashed potatoes…I think. And…what is that, synthetic steak? Mm mm, my favorite. And uhh….Kamori beans, of course. And Reutorian water."

"That's enough, Sparks."

"What? I'm just saying, you can't feed this mess to a Jedi!"

"I think it tastes just fine," Navonod replied, crunching into a spoonful of beans. They were bitter, and gritty on the inside. But still, she soldiered on.

"Sir, you don't have to eat this slop. I'm sure they've got much better food up in the Jedi quarters. We're happy to wait for you if you'd like to join us."

"No, I'm perfectly happy with this. If you all eat it, why can't I? Why can't Jedi and Troopers dine together?"

The soldiers fell silent, a few looking down at their laps with an embarrassed smile.

"Thank you, sir."

"For…for what?"

"For not calling us 'clones', sir."

The other troopers looked up in acknowledgement.

"You're all individuals. You each have your own personalities, your own strengths. It makes you who you are," Navonod replied, citing her Master's words. She found herself doing that a lot lately.

The rest of the evening was spent fooling around with the troops. She educated them as best she could on the ways of the Force, while the troops in turn educated her on the different kinds of specialty troopers they had.

There were Clone troopers, which was the base for all troopers. Then there were Arc Troopers, of which only a few existed. There were Trooper Pilots, Flame Troopers, Snow Troopers, Scuba Troopers; a trooper existed for just about any environment. It really hit home just how far the war reached.

In the middle of their joking around, Navonod's commlink beeped. She looked down at it and sighed.

"Alright, time for class. Thank you all for a lovely evening."

The troopers all stood up and saluted.

"Have a good class today, Sir."

"Knock 'em dead, kid."

"You got this!"

She gave each of them smiles and waves before heading out towards the simulation room. It was a large empty expanse, filled with movable platforms, designed to simulate any sort of environment or terrain. It was quite a large space, sizable enough for at least two Vulture Droids to fly around in.

The Padawan went through her stretches as usual, preparing her body for the physical exertion. Master Shaak Ti appeared from around the corner, her hands behind her back.

"Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, Master."

"This will be your first class with live fire, and with your lightsaber in hand. Are you sure you're ready? There is no shame in delay."

"No, Master. I'm ready. I feel if I wait, it'll only be a , this way, the Troopers will learn what it's like to actually fight alongside a real Jedi."

"Very well. I will be watching. May the Force be with you, my Padawan."

"Thank you, Master."

Navonod disrobed, standing in her usual clothing; A top with only the right arm as a full sleeve, the other had been cut away, atop which she wore a chest armor piece similar to the one that Kenobi wore. She also wore dark leggings, an armor piece on her left thigh, and a long floor length cloak that covered the entire right leg, front to back. Her belt had two lightsabers and four stimpaks, just in case. She adjusted her veil, making sure it remained down well below her chin.

The squad arrived before long, each of them raring and ready to go.

"Good evening, Commander. I'm CT-7843, this is CT—"

"Good evening, Trooper. I know you all have nicknames, would it be alright if I use those? It feels less personal when I use your designations. Besides…it's easier to call out a nickname than the designation number in the heat of battle," Navonod interjected, with a playful grin.

"Slugger, Sir."

"Ripcord, Sir."

"Lingo, Sir."

"Shred, Sir."

"Bolt, Sir."

"Fantastic. Now, today we'll be running your typical capture the flag mission. We'll be under heavy enemy fire. Please note, there will be live fire during this so check your fire. I will be joining you."

"Sir?"

"Nothing to worry about, Trooper! It'll give you a taste of what's to come when you ship out to join Generals Kenobi or Skywalker!"

"Yes, sir!"

The six of them remained on the elevator, as it carried them up to their simulation. The platforms moved, a fake target building was established, and a marker was set. It seemed so close and yet, so so far.

"Alright. All we have to do is hit the button, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Any suggestions?"

"You're asking me?"

"Well, you've got more training than I do in battle tactics. What do you suggest?"

Up in the observatory, Shaak Ti watched her pupil closely. "She is already seeking to learn from those around her."

"Yes she is sir, but…"

"Captain?"

"If I may be frank, sir, if the boys are going to follow Slugger's plan, they didn't need a Jedi there. This ends up being Slugger's mission, not the Commander's."

"This is true. Let us see how she handles herself."

"Well sir, I would suggest a standard frontal assault. We overwhelm them with firepower, we have you deflecting their bolts, we'll take the fortress in no time."

"Hmm…no that's what they want us to do. It's the easiest thing to do. Let's try a pincer strategy. Bolt and Lingo, you two head flank left. Shred, Ripcord, you two go right. Slugger, you're with me. Slugger and I will walk right up, get as close as we can. As soon as you hear gunfire, you two toss your smoke grenades at us. We'll clear them out as best we can, and once we're in, we'll break off into groups of two. Slugger will join Shred and Ripcord, I'll join Bolt and Lingo. We'll keep it nice and quiet, no need for any unnecessary fire."

"Yes, sir!"

"Alright. Let's go!"

The mission started out just fine. Navonod took advantage of the stupidity of the droids to get as close as she did, even with Slugger as a trooper right behind her. She managed to hack down three of them before the smoke grenades came. She Force pushed the grenades into the fortress doorway, concealing their entrance. They broke off as planned, into two groups of three. Before breaking off, Navonod made sure to set up a tripmine, warning the others nonverbally of its presence. However, a squad of destroyer droids rolled in from behind, blocking off their exit. Two vulture droids soared overhead, patrolling the area as well. There was no way they could do this without being seen.

Navonod made eye contact with her squadmates, giving them the signal to commence firing. With a furious war cry, she leapt out from her hiding spot, launching high into the air to spear the vulture droid with her lightsaber.

At once, all hell broke loose. The troopers laid down cover fire for Navonod as she dispatched the second vulture droid, easily the most dangerous enemy. She leapt from it down towards the destroyers. She drew her second saber blade and deflected as many blasts as she could, having dropped four emp grenades on the floor. She gently kicked these, letting them roll slowly past the shields. Four of the six Destroyers were down and Navonod made her way back to her group, which had pushed forward, the two remaining destroyed set off the tripmine and were blown to bits.

"It's like she knew about the destroyers."

"My Padawan is nothing if not prepared."

"She's doing quite well so far, sir."

Navonod and the rest of her troops were pinned down however, by unrelenting blaster fire from the fortress ramparts.

"Sir! We can't get around their fire! There's just too much and it's too precise!"

"Well if we can't get around the fire, then maybe we can move the cover!"

"Sir?"

Navonod reached her hands out, grunting with the exertion, as she Force lifted the three heavy crates behind which the other three were hiding.

"Move!" she cried out and slowly began to move the boxes closer to her. The troopers followed suite, staying behind the crates for protection. She let out her pent-up breath and gasped for air.

"Well done, sir!'

"Don't thank me yet, Slugger. We still gotta get that button. Any ideas?"

"Sir…I could go with you and back you up, and the other four could go from the other side, cut them off from retreating?"

"That gives me another idea. I don't want to needlessly risk your lives. Whichever of you is the stealthiest—"

"That'll be me, sir," Bolt said, nodding.

"You'll have to sneak up there and place trigger mines every few feet all the way down. Let them think the explosions are our way up. That'll herd them to all six of us, who'll be waiting on the other side. Ripcord, cover Bolt. Make sure he gets back safe. Slugger, Lingo, Shred? Let's go make some noise."

"Yes sir!"

The group broke off yet again, this time with the four heavy hitters rushing to the center of the fortress, drawing all fire to them. Navonod made sure to deflect any bolts coming at her were deflected at any droids that may have seen Bolt or Ripcord. She drew both her lightsabers at once. In truth, she was better with just the one, but it always helped to have a spare. The distraction worked. The droids attacked the four of them, ignoring Bolt and Ripcord, who worked their way back into the group. Together, all six made their way to the doorway, setting off the explosions on the corridor to herd the droids inside towards them. Once the doors opened, the droids were all dispatched and Navonod dove inside and slammed her hand on the button. The victory horn sounded and the troopers began to cheer.

"She did well," Master Shaak Ti stated, turning to the captain for his input. He nodded as well, though seemed to be holding something back.

"Nothing's gone wrong yet, General. I can't judge her based on what she does well, but rather how she handles it when she fails. I'm sure you can agree with that."

"Wise words, Captain. Yes, you are right. We will have new droids put in, a new situation, and will up the difficulty so that she is forced to alter course," Master Shaak Ti responded, leaning down to speak into the microphone. "Well done, all of you. We will run the course again, this time with a different goal in mind. It will be a timed position defense. You must hold out till the clock is done. Go, prepare."

"With all due respect General, I think the boys and I are ready to go. As is the Commander I should reckon," Slugger spoke up.

"We'll need a minute to get the troops their ammunition. But after that, we're ready to go."

"Very well." Master Shaak Ti answered and click the mic off. She turned to her captain and gestured to the control console behind him. "Forty battle droids, ten commando droids, two Magna Guards, and a couple of probe droids if you please, Captain. Be sure all their weapons are set to stun."

"Yes, sir."

Meanwhile, Navonod and her troops were geared up and ready to go.

"I reckon we'll have this in the bag!"

"Drinks are on me, boys!"

"Hey now, don't celebrate too soon. Let's get through this first."

"Ah come on, we got a Jedi on our side, we'll be fine!"

The elevator came to a halt, revealing a new setup. This time, they were in the fortress and had a three-minute timer. They could see several droids out in the field, but the field had purposefully been altered toad dense fog; a simulation of poor visibility. Shaak Ti chose that moment to commence the rainfall as well, which was as windy and powerful indoors as it was outdoors. "Your time starts now."

"Hey! What kinda nonsense is this?! We can't fight in this!"

"We're _trained_ to fight in this, Ripcord! Commander, your orders!"

"Uhh…"

"Commander!"

"R—right! Bolt, take up the ramparts on—"

"Aagh!"

"Bolt!" Ripcord dove into cover, grabbing Bolt by the ankle and pulling him into cover.

"Ripcord! Take Bolt's position on the ramparts! Be careful! It looks like they have probe droids out there! Slugger, you take the opposite position on the ramparts. Lingo and Shred, you two back them up, then once they're in position, meet me down by the fortress doors. We're going to shore up our defenses as best we can before they get here. Break!"

They took off towards their positions as fast as they could, however Shred was clipped in the leg with a blaster bolt on the way. Shred ended up taking Slugger's position, as he wouldn't have been much help with an injury. The group did their best to stack up the crates, but only when she deflected a bolt from behind her did she realize her mistake.

"I'm an idiot."

"A rookie mistake, sir." The captain said to Shaak Ti, in reference to their shoring up of the defenses. "It's a smart plan when all there is is battle droids. Those clankers are dumb."

The Commandos ended up taking a similar path to what the troopers had done in the last simulation; a pincer attack. She had put her men on the wrong ramparts, defending the wrong areas. No wonder they didn't hear any shots.

"Retreat back to the control room. Now!"

"You heard her! Back to the control room, on the double!"

As they made their way back, two of the commando droids shattered through the front defenses. Not enough for all the troops to get in, not yet anyway. One of them got a shot off which hit Lingo in the leg. He dropped and turned, only to have his vision blocked by Navonod, who landed in front of him, both lightsabers drawn and deflecting shots left and right as she made her way into the control room.

"Sir? Sir I'm seeing droids inside the fortress, is that—Aagh!"

"Shred? Come in, Shred, I'm seeing the same thing. Are we letting them in on purpose? Wait, wait! No! Aagh!"

"And then there were three," Slugger replied, shaking his head.

"Two and a half," Lingo corrected, gesturing to his leg.

"Can anyone see the timer? Know how much time we have left?"

Lingo tried to crane his neck but couldn't see. He shook his head and went back to guarding the door. "Not a thing, Commander."

"What do we do?"

Navonod sighed and focused her mind. She hated using this skill but Master Yoda had told her to do so would be of great help. She opened her eyes and saw that time had stood still. She didn't feel like herself. She felt thin, like a bolt of fabric lost in the wind. She had used the Force Veil.

It was a very rare ability, like sensing Force Echos from objects. The Force Veil allowed those with it's power to cross over and study their past lives. Indeed, it existed in a plane of existence all on it's own, and one could theoretically spend a lifetime in the Veil, studying, before returning to their mortal realm. The only drawback was the draw of energy. The Veil drew so much energy from the user that most users only had a few hours at most to spend. There were stories of great Jedi Masters who had crossed the veil for several hours a day to study their past lives, with several tomes to attest to the experiences their past lives had.

She had done the same, as per Yoda's request. She had taken notes on just such an occasion, a battle in which her past life had been trapped in a small confined area and had to defend it till reinforcements came.

_Found it!_ She scoured throught her notes hurriedly, returning to her present body.

"What do we do? Commander! What do we do?"

"This facility has cameras outside right? That we can monitor from here?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Make all power go out except those cameras. Do it quickly. I want them to take the bait. Slugger, I want you to rig up the doors to every grenade you two have so that when it opens, they go boom. Don't worry, I can shield us from the blast."

"Yes, sir."

If they had any reservations about the plan, they didn't show it. Such was the loyalty and faith of the Troopers in their Jedi Generals and Commanders. At once, the facility's lights and alarms dropped. Shaak Ti narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "What are you trying to do, Padawan?" she muttered to herself.

The Commando droids were wary. They split up their troops and went for each door, testing the handles and finding them open. With no hesitation, they barged right in, turning their heads at the last moment to hear the rapid beeping of the grenades.

"Uh oh…" one of the droids managed to say before the explosion tore through the room. In the middle of it all, with the two remaining Troopers, was Navonod, using the Force to repel the energy caused by the blasts. At her back, Slugger knelt facing the right, gun cocked and ready should anything get in after the explosion and to her front, Lingo knelt facing the left.

The blast cleared away and Navonod collapsed forward, exhausted.

"You did good, Commander."

"Yeah, those clankers don't—Argh!"

"Lingo! Aah!"

Two well aimed blaster bolts from the Probe droids still stationed outside were all it took. She'd forgotten about them. But as long as they were out there and she was in here, she would be fine. She moved her friends into safe comfortable positions, out of harm's way, then drew her lightsabers and waited.

It was then that familiar sound of electricity buzzing could be heard. Two massive droids, each over six feet tall, carrying menacing electrostaffs. She was already exhausted, both from her trip across the Force Veil and her exertion from keeping the blast from hitting them. She brandished her lightsabers, shoulders quivering slightly. She only got a few hits in before one of the guards disarmed her and grabbed her by the throat. It raised its Electrostaff up high, ready to impale her with it.

The victory horn sounded. The rain stopped falling, the wind stopped blowing, the fog dissappated, the droids ceased their assault. The magnaguard attacking Navonod let go of her and turned, promptly walking away. She followed it outside, looking up at the clock, which was flashing all zeroes.

But this was no victory. Just above the flashing zeroes she could see Master Shaak Ti and a Captain conversing. Master Shaak Ti looked down, locking eyes with her Padawan, and gave her a somber, sympathetic smile.

Navonod sighed and turned back. She picked up her lightsabers and hooked them on her belt, reaching down and using her stimpaks on the two troopers in the room with her.

"What? What happened?"

"Hey, that's the victory bell! We won!"

"We didn't win. We wore out the timer, that's all," Navonod explained dejectedly. She walked off, in search of Bolt, Ripcord, and Shred. The other two stayed behind, chatting between themselves, before they too went off to go find their comrades.

Navonod helped the troopers as best she could, giving them half-hearted waves as they left.

Master Shaak Ti bowed her head to each of them as they passed by her, then made her way into the room, her brow furrowed slightly with worry.

"Hi, Master."

"Hello, little one."

"How badly did I do?"

"You are always so hard on yourself, Navii. You didn't do poorly at all."

"But I failed. I wore myself out, I let those two guards in, they would have gotten me too if the timer hadn't run out. They would have gotten to the console if they weren't programmed to go for the biggest threat in the room first."

"And yet you did not fail. The victory bell sounded. Who knows, perhaps next time it may not be a victory bell, it may be another Jedi bursting through the window to help you?" she suggested. Navonod nodded, looking down at her knees. Shaak Ti regarded her Padawan with a sad look and, in an attempt to lighten her mood, added, "Though it won't be me bursting through any windows, I can tell you that. I value this robe far too much to risk ripping it."

What she had hoped to be a laugh was instead a weak sigh. "Master, I'm cold and wet and tired. May I be excused to my quarters to rest?"

Shaak Ti returned to full seriousness, bringing out a towel from within her robes for her Padawan. She guided the girl to a chair and sat her down, going so far as to towel her down herself. "What do you think was the point of today's lesson?"

"To let me embarrass myself?" Navonod replied half-jokingly, receiving yet another gentle flick to the forehead.

"Navii, I would have thought you were above such pettiness. Now think. What did you learn from today?"

She remained quiet for a while. Master and Padawan sat together, looking at each other, waiting for the latter to break the silence. What _had _she learned? Battle tactics? No, that couldn't be it. She would have simply asked her to study up on those. The ruthlessness of droids? She already knew of that. Fighting under extreme conditions? Those _were_ some rather extreme conditions. But then, being uncomfortable was in an of itself one of the conditions of war, right along with—oh.

"I learned that not every battle is an easy victory. Not every battle is a victory. Sometimes you lose dismally. Sometimes you barely win. But as a leader, I cannot allow myself to let doubt and fear cloud my judgement. I have to know that every battle might be a battle that I may not win, or walk away from."

Shaak Ti gave her padawan a bright smile and leaned down, kissing her forehead. "Well done, my Padawan. You have learned a great deal today. Go now. Rest. You'll need it for tomorrow."

Navonod walked off, towel in hand. Shaak Ti watched her leave, shaking her head with relief. She had been worried that the intense rain may have jogged her Padawan's memories of her past life on accident. They'd learned to control them, for now. But such was the nature of trauma, one never knew when it would strike again.

Navonod took a hot shower and cleaned herself off, dressing comfortably in her Padawan robes. Her clothes were ones she had to wear at all times as she didn't know when they could be attacked. She couldn't be seen fighting in her nightgown. Thankfully, the Padawan robes were quite comfortable. She had done her best to meditate on her day, but quickly ended up falling asleep. The lightning outside flashed brightly, the thunder crashed loudly, and the rain pattered against the windows relentlessly.

Navonod slept soundly, but the unyielding rainfall slowly took its effect. Though she had been dreaming of a calm spot on Naboo, it slowly turned into a gentle rain. The gentle rains grew stronger and stronger, and she was forced to run for a building to take refuge. The building, which each bright flash of lightning, crumbled and grew more derelict, till she was right beneath it. That was when she saw it.

The Monolith. Something drew her forward. Her Master was there…no. Her Master's body. That was what drew her forward; her grief. She needed closure. She needed to see the body. But with every step she took, yet another red lightsaber lit up from atop the monolith. More and more of them.

Her grief grew, boundless and endless, as it gave rise to something even deeper: Rage. The fury and anger at losing her Master, at the thought of the Sith desecrating her Master's body for their experiments, for their twisted games, or purely for the sick humor in it. She let out a furious war cry, a cry that let all the Sith know, that let all the world know, her anger, her rage, and grief, were not to be trifled with.

And with that, she awoke, still crying out. The window had long since shattered and was letting in the torrential rains. The door to her bathroom lay crumpled in a heap, looking no larger than a tin can. Master Shaak Ti was there, shaking her shoulders. Her words did not reach her ears, at least not immediately. Two troopers were behind her as well, guns at the ready, but she knew they weren't there to shoot her, only there in case there was some sort of attack. A Kaminoan healer was there as well, carrying several vials and syringes.

"Padawan?! Padawan! Navii! Navii, wake up! Navii! It is a dream, nothing more! You are here, in the present! Wake up!"

"Master?"

"Oh, Navii!" Shaak Ti cried softly, hugging her Padawan. She soon remembered protocol however and let the Padawan go, immediately getting on her knees before her in a meditative stance.

"Come. You and I shall meditate together."

"Perhaps we should give her some sleeping daughts, I've got a concoction here that would—"

"Doctor, if you would please be so kind as to leave us be. A Jedi's training, much like a doctor's, does not end due to the late hours of the night. You are better accustomed to this fact than I, or any other Jedi. I would ask to use this opportunity to train my Padawan further," Shaak Ti covered quickly. The medic nodded and walked off, muttering to himself about the stubbornness of Jedi.

"We'll wait outside, sir. For the night. Just in case you should need anything, one of us can get it for you."

"That is very kind of you, Trooper. Thank you," She smiled to the troopers. One of them used a sort of Expanding foam to block up the window hole. He too nodded and left without a word. Silence fell over the two of them.

"Tell me."

"Tell you what, Master?"

"What it is you saw."

"I saw a meadow of green. I saw the clouds turn dark, grey as ash. I saw the rainfall, felt it lashing cold against my skin. I heard the thunder deafening me. I saw…" Navonod paused, her breath shaky and weak.

Shaak Ti, who had her eyes closed, opened them and saw her Padawan's eyes squeezed shut tight, tears still slipping through.

"Go on, my pupil."

"I saw the monolith," she whispered, so low that even Shaak Ti had to strain to hear it. "I saw them all…standing on it. Their lightsabers gleaming red in the darkness. I saw the body at the peak," her voice shook with horror, her eyes now snapping open, wide with fear. Shaak Ti grew worried. She sat with her Padawan for a while, comforting her as best she could.

She had expected the rainfall to be a trigger for her Padawan, but this close to her graduation was not foreseen. She had been informed by the council when she was assigned to her that the nightmares were quite frequent on Coruscant, worse so when the rains came. Shaak Ti thought back to her youth. What had settled her when she was scared? Meditation. But clearly that wasn't working. However, she regarded the meditation beads in her palm and cocked her eyebrow at them. Perhaps…that just might work.

She took her hand and stood up.

"Come with me. Collect yourself and then we will go. There is something we must do."

"Master?"

The two were in the room for a while longer before it opened. Both Troopers were dutifully stationed outside, showing no signs of weariness or exhaustion, despite the late hour. "Are you alright, Commander?" One asked with worry.

"Course she is, Bolt! Jedi are resilient! Nothing gets to 'em." The other, Lingo, replied with a jovial thumbs up.

"Right you are, Lingo. Right you are."

Shaak Ti recognized the names and felt touched that the same Troopers volunteered to give up their rest to watch over her. "We are going down to the forges. There is something I'd like the Padawan to do."

"Shall we escort you, sir?"

"No need, Trooper. You and Lingo are free to get some rest. I thank you for your concern."

"Of course sir. Just doing our job."

The two troopers departed, and Shaak Ti guided her Padawan down to the forges.

"Master, why are we here?"

"You will craft your own meditation beads. No one will know what material they are, how heavy they are. They will be yours and yours alone. But you must do so with the power of the Force."

"Yes, Master."

"I will come check on you soon."

The late night turned into a late morning, with Navonod working slowly but meticulously to complete her meditation beads. She didn't complete them all, she only got about fifteen finished, but she was satisfied with the result. She ended up falling asleep right there in the forge from her exhaustion.

Shaak Ti arrived late in the morning to fetch her pupil, only to find her asleep, clutching a pouch of what was presumably her beads. She smiled and lifted her Padawan, gently guiding her back to her room, which had been repaired.

"Rest now, Navii," Shaak Ti said softly, "We can always train later."

"Master? I got a few of them done. How many do I make?" she asked sleepily, her eyes hardly able to stay open.

"As many as you feel is right," she replied, gently removing her Padawan's veil and setting it aside. She regarded her sleeping Padawan with a contemplative look. Though she had no inkling as to any information regarding the beads, she could feel the Force heavy in them. Each bead glowed brightly with the Light Side of the Force. In contrast, her Padawan's light was dimmer, but still very much there. There were a few flashes of darkness here and there, but, then those were present in everyone. She stayed with her Padawan for that day, meditating.

That day after her Padawan's test, she had submitted a formal request for her graduation from Padawan to Knight. Her nightmare had given Shaak Ti doubt, doubt that she would be able to handle the world outside. Though, she had gone so many years without a single incident, despite having so many on Coruscant. Was it possible that her past life was drawn to Coruscant? She glanced at her sleeping Padawan, who snored gently in her sleep. She wouldn't wake tonight.

Shaak Ti stood up and went ot her own quarters, accessing the Jedi Archives and looking up the past fallen Jedi. It took her quite some scouring, as there wasn't much information on it, but she finally found the relevant information.

Master N'aviiya. A human Jedi, a powerful one at that. She had been instrumental in quite a few of the Jedi Councils missions. She had a difficult life, even after becoming a Jedi. Her family slaughtered, her home planet destroyed and left abandoned for pirates and illegal traders to hide on. Her greatest feat, and inevitably her downfall, was the single handed quelling of a Sith uprising. She had been contacted at the Jedi Council, having been sent her master's lightsaber, the hand still attached.

Despite the Council's warnings, she went alone to rescue her old master, who had long since been killed.

From here, Shaak Ti did not need the details. She had heard them from her own Padawan. Shaak Ti closed her eyes as she recalled the details. They'd been described so vividly by her Padawan that she was able to see the scene almost as if she was there.

_It was raining. At first that was all she could sense. But then, slowly, the rest of her senses returned to her. She could smell the petrichor as waves of heavy rainfall lashed against the stony earth. Her skin was soaked through entirely, her robes clinging to her back and legs, weighing her down, little rivulets pouring off the sharp angles that the folds in her fabric made. She could hear the thunder, booming and omniscient, clapping violently in the sky. She could hear the droplets slapping against the ground, and the soft hisses as they evaporated against her lightsaber. She heard the dull hum of her own lightsaber, but could hear the others as well. Finally she opened her eyes, and even through the curtains of rain, she could make out the massive pyramid structure. She couldn't see the figures themselves, but she could very clearly make out the numerous red lightsabers adorning it here and there. There were so many. _

_But she felt no fear, nor did she feel brave or courageous. No, her only purpose was for answers. And if that meant killing the menacing figures before her, so be it. _

_With a swing of her blade, she charged ahead, the blue saber humming behind her. The closer she drew, the more she realized just how large the structure was before her, and just how many of them there were on it. She was able to make out a staircase leading all the way to the top, and on either side, larger steps, much larger, as if giants themselves once clambered up those steps to reach the summit. It was upon these massive steps that she fought, leaping high in the air and coming down with a battle cry and landing hard on one of the hooded figures. The sheer force behind her blade overwhelmed him and she heard the tell tale high pitched sizzle of her blade piercing flesh. Her nose caught the whiff of charred flesh, but she didn't care, there were too many around her for her to worry about that. She yanked her blade out easily and leapt backwards, avoiding a swing from another's red blade, ducking and weaving through their ranks and massacring each and every one of them. A quick glance revealed their numbers and for the briefest of moments, she felt a pang of fear when she saw hordes of hordes of figures with red blades, leaping high from the summit and descending down upon her. There were hundreds of them. _

_She didn't realize when she began to fight on pure instinct, only realizing it when her own vision was clouded by her tears, tears filled with so much emotion that she was having trouble containing it all. Perhaps that was why she was moving faster, striking harder, dodging more quickly. She found herself at the summit, with only one more hooded figure left. It stood there, an ornate black and gold mask on its face. The figure's arms were crossed over its chest and, although it wore long flowing black robes, she could tell it stood with its feet shoulder width apart. She could see two curved lightsaber handles hanging from its hips. For a while, they stared at each other, before the figure finally spoke, its deep baritone voice made even more menacing by the mask. _

"_You've come this far. Why stop now? Come. Fight me. Prove your inferiority to me, prove the inferiority of the Jedi to me…the way your Master did. She suffered so deliciously and in the end, when she died, do you know what she told me?"_

_Her breathing, already heavy from the exertion of the past few hours of fighting, had gotten even faster now that her rage began to make her blood boil. She could feel her grip on her blades tightening, and was almost certain that she would have dented the handles with her grip. She let out a cry of fury and pain, dashing ahead with a vicious jab. The figure drew its own two blades, almost blindingly fast, and blocked, letting out a sinister mechanical laugh. _

"_She regretted it. She regretted meeting me. She regretted teaching you the things she taught me, she regretted teaching me the things she didn't teach you. But mostly…she regretted joining the Jedi Order in the first place."_

_Again, she struck, and again she was blocked. She didn't relent, using every trick she was taught, every attack, every parry, every dodge, every feint, but they were all blocked by the faceless figure. She could see him getting weaker, could see his hands shake slightly with each vicious strike he blocked. Even with two blades, it wasn't enough._

_Hours and hours they spent, fighting at the summit of the pyramid, the rain pounding down on them, the lightning occasionally flashing just as their blades did upon each collision, the thunder crashing around them so loudly that it drowned out her screams, even for her. But finally, a misstep was all it took and she was able to gain the upperhand, beating down upon him with her blade again and again. She disarmed his left hand but he continued to fight, faltering backwards with each step. Again, she continued to swipe and swing at him, each strike closer and closer to landing. Finally, he faltered and she was able to disarm him…literally this time. With a quick spin of her blade, she sliced right through his entire arm, right up to the shoulder, as if it were just a mere sheet of paper. He let out a scream of agony and collapsed, now defenseless. _

_She pointed her blade down at his throat, breathing heavily from the exertion. "Any last wishes?"_

_He too was gasping for air, but soon it became laughter. A short chuckle at first, but then it quickly transformed into a loud roaring cackle._

_"WHAT?!" she screamed into his hidden face. His laughter died down, but his mirth did not disappear. _

"_Look at what you've done. Look at all that you've…accomplished," he spat the word mockingly at her, using his remaining arm to gesture outwards. She glared at him before looking out and finally, she felt her emotions subside. _

"_Death and destruction. All of this, and for what? Revenge? That isn't the Jedi way. You fight for compassion and peace, not for revenge. And all those you slaughtered. Righteous killings? No. Murder. Killings borne of hatred and rage. Oh, such delectable rage coursing within you. You can feel it, can't you? You can feel your hatred flowing through your veins, empowering you, emboldening you, making you stronger, faster," he spoke, his breathing laborious from the exertion and from his injury._

"_No I—I…"_

"_Say whatever you will, but whether or not I die here tonight, you know that I've won. I've corrupted you. You've become Sith, whether you wanted it or not."_

"_No, I…this was for my Mas—I, I didn't slaught—they were going to kill me, I was just def…I…I...," she paused, dropping her blade away from him and hanging her head in shame. "I am Sith," she whispered to herself, in admission. _

"_Wish. Granted." He said and began to laugh again. The insult was too great to bear and she let out a scream as she swung her blade, beheading the figure beneath her and silencing him. She could still hear his laugher echoing in her head, getting louder and louder, surrounding her. _

_He was right. Everything she had done went against the teachings of her Master, against the teachings of the Jedi Order. She could no longer call herself a Jedi. She was a Sith. She had become the very thing she'd sworn to fight, the very thing she'd sworn to destroy, all in the name of keeping the galaxy safe. _

_She dropped to her knees, putting her own saber away and drawing her Master's, which was hooked on her belt. She whimpered as she looked at it. She felt as if she was filthy, and no longer felt worthy of touching such a sacred thing._

_The guilt, the pain of realization was too much for her. Her gentle crying became violent sobs as she knelt there, gripping her Master's lightsaber. It was quite some time before she managed to center herself, to stop her crying long enough to focus. Tears still fell, but they were tears of regret and humiliation, tears of defeat, tears of one resigned to their fate._

_She could no longer smell the petrichor of the earth, she could only smell the overwhelming odor of charred burning flesh. Her robes were tattered and burnt, but so emotionally numb was she that she no longer registered the ice cold rain relentlessly lashing down on her. She no longer winced as the thunder clapped and crashed deafeningly around her. _

_She looked up at the sky, sadly admiring the finality of the lightning and thunder. Once it happened, it happened. It did not shy away, it worked in absolutes. As did the Sith. But in a way, her oath to defeat the Sith was an absolute as well. And as a Sith, she only dealt in absolutes, didn't she? It was her duty now to kill the Sith. Still on her knees, she pressed the end of her Master's weapon into her chest, waiting for the next clap of thunder. _

_She was oddly calm. Her heart was not pounding anymore, but rather it was quite calm. Perhaps, in it's broken state, it had come to realize that what she was about to do was the best thing. Not only for her but for the galaxy as well. She looked up into the sky, smiling tearfully as the lightning flashed. _

"_Forgive me, my Master," she whispered to herself, and as soon as the thunder clapped, she heard nothing but the deep, comforting hum of a lightsaber. The sounds of thunder and rain faded away into nothing. She could smell nothing at all now. And slowly, she felt her vision fade away, the bright blue of the saber growing dimmer and dimmer as her eyes closed, once and for all. _

Shaak Ti's eyes snapped open with a shuddering breath. She took a few breaths to steady herself. She shut off all devices except for her commlink and sat down on her meditation mat, pulling out a set of large, heavy meditation orbs. These were carved by hand from one stone from each planet she had been to that had helped her grow spiritually. So far, she only had a few. Perhaps she would enlist a Scuba Trooper's help to get a rock from this planet. If that was even possible. Each of the orbs she had put in the time and work to hand carve, to polish, to refine as best she could. They were not perfect. But they were hers. For her, distancing herself from the Force centered her. For her Padawan, the opposite was true. Using the Force for artwork, for creation, it helped her Padawan subconsciously see the Light in all things.

But was she right in scheduling her graduation? Would her Padawan be able to handle the outside world? With such war and turmoil, would she be able to keep her Light in check? She spent the rest of the night meditating on the subject.

Her decision however, had now changed. She trusted the Force in guiding her decision, a fact she mentioned the next morning to the Council in a holo conference.

"And you feel that your Padawan is ready to become a Knight?"

"I think she is bright, strong-willed, and knowledgeable in the ways of the Jedi and the Force."

"Answer the question you did not. Believe your Padawan is ready, do you?"

Shaak Ti turned to look at Master Yoda, who was emanating wisdom. He regarded her with a contemplative look, his ear twitching slightly.

"I do not believe she is ready for the responsibility of a Jedi Knight. But I believe she has learned all she can under my tutelage. I think it is time for her to go out and join the forces on the front lines."

"She'll need a Master. She can't just go off on her own."

"What about Master Pong Krell? He's not had any students of late," Ki Adi Mundi suggested.

"I would advise against that," Mace Windu answered, shaking his head. "Master Krell is a gifted Jedi Knight but he's far too aggressive for Master Shaak Ti's Padawan. We know she has a tendency towards nightmares and I do not believe Master Krell would take the time to help her."

"Master Kenobi then?" Plo Koon suggested.

"Master Kenobi already has a Padawan."

"Skywalker can handle himself."

"As someone who has fought alongside him personally, I can attest to young Anakin's skills. He is quite accomplished already as a Jedi. He is a Knight in all but title."

"No one here is questioning the skills of Skywalker," Mace Windu said, directing the conversation back to the matter at hand. "The question now is, can Padawan E'Gatsoh handle the difficulties and troubles of war?" he said, asking the group as a whole but directing the question mainly to Master Shaak Ti.

"I believe she can. As the Council had advised me, she had several nightmares on a weekly basis while on Coruscant. Since joining me here on Kamino, my Padawan has had only four or five incidents in as many years. I cannot take complete credit for this however. I believe the instigating factor for her nightmares was in fact, Coruscant itself. More specifically, the Jedi Temple."

Shaak Ti paused momentarily to let the gathered Jedi contemplate her words. She waited for a cue from Mace to continue, receiving it in the form of a nod.

"Navonod's nightmares are not mere dreams. As you all know, most Jedi do not dream, but rather have visions. Visions of the future, of the present, of the past. Navonod has described to me, in painful detail, the nightmares she has. I believe she has visions of her past life, as Master N'aviiya."

A general murmur went about the room as the gathered Jedi made noises of surprise and acknowledgement. Shaak Ti looked to Master Yoda to take over, who cleared his throat, commanding silence instantly.

"Correct, you are. The ability to cross into the Force Veil, Padawan E'Gatsoh has, a skill that aware of only she, Master Shaak Ti, and myself were. As Master N'aviiya, Padawan E'Gatsoh's past life was. The circumstances of her death we all know, yes? If any place she was going to have more frequent nightmares there was, on Kamino it would have been. Yes."

The Council fell silent. As did Master Shaak Ti. She could feel the uncertainty. None of them wanted to be responsible for accepting the responsibility of allowing a potentially unstable Jedi into the field.

"How have her tests been?" Mace asked after several minutes of silence.

Shaak Ti breathed an internal sigh of relief. "She has passed all of her tests with grace and skill befitting a Jedi."

"And you will continue to work with her on her nightmares?" He asked again, fingers interlocked together.

"We have already found a possible solution and are working it out. It has seemed to have worked."

Master Windu looked to the other Jedi in the Council, all of whom gave their nods of agreement. He looked to Master Yoda, who tapped his cane on the ground. "Then contact Master Kenobi we will. To expect a new Padawan we will tell. Prepare your Padawan. A long journey ahead she has, yes?"

Shaak Ti looked at Master Yoda. Even through the Holo call, she could feel the jade Jedi's eyes boring into her. He wasn't talking literally. He wanted her to be ready for the battles that would be ahead.

"I will, Master Yoda. Thank you."

And with that the call ended. Shaak Ti let out her pent-up breath and relaxed, then smiled brightly. She pulled from the closet, a box which contained a new chest armor piece, designed specifically for her Padawan. It featured magnets on the back edge, that could be connected to the waist cloth she wore, in case it got in the way.

She had also included a simple leather pouch for Navonod to store her meditation beads in.

She smiled at the presents and pushed them back in the closet, leaving her room to make preparations for the graduation ceremony as well as for her Padawans bittersweet departure.

Graduation was happening in only a few weeks now. Shaak Ti was presiding over the graduation tests of several squads. One particular one was having trouble graduating and she had debated giving them a second chance. She had done so and their test was to be scheduled soon, right before graduation in fact.

The clones were visibly excited, as was her Padawan, for her departing friends. She spent as much time as she could with them in the mess hall, or in the training grounds between breaks. She ran several more training missions with live fire as well, however these were no longer tests for her, but rather tests for the more advanced squads.

They had spoken together in great detail about her nightmares, of which she had had no more incidents. They were currently seated in Shaak Ti's quarters, a thick stick of lit incense sitting between them, sending a column of lazy smoke up into the air.

"When last we spoke of your nightmares, you mentioned that you felt physical things triggered your nightmares. The rain, the thunder. Do you feel this has changed?"

"I think so. I'm not sure what the cause could be."

"I believe it is your sensitivity to the Force and, by extension, your past life's sensitivity as well. I do not know how much you have researched her, but she was a very powerful Jedi, a very Force-sensitive user. I believe your nightmares were caused by your proximity to Force sensitive locations."

"Like the Temple!"

"Yes."

"Does that mean I can't ever go back?"

"No no. In time you will learn to control it, to gain mastery over it subconsciously as you have gained mastery over it consciously. Besides, you will have to go there sooner or later."

"Why? Master, you've been so eager to see me leave lately. What's going on?"

"Again, so hard on yourself! Eager to see you leave? Nothing could be further from the truth, my little Navii. I admit I want you to leave, but only for the most selfish of reasons; I want the worlds to see what an incredible Jedi you have become." she said, giving her Padawan an amused smile and another gentle flick of her finger on the forehead. Navonod smiled and leaned into it, instead resting her head in her Master's palm.

She could feel her Padawan's hesitation, but said nothing on it.

"Master, I'm worried. Whether it's next year or the year after, I'm worried that I won't be ready. I'm worried to go out there alone, Master."

"Oh little Navii, it's alright. Your fears are misplaced," Shaak Ti responded, shifting her hand from the top of Navonod's head to her cheek." You are ready. I am so proud of you. These past few weeks have shown me that you are a strong, gifted, talented young Jedi and I am lucky to have been your Master."

"I'm scared," she said softly, her eyes gleaming with tears. Shaak Ti held her Padawan's gaze with her own, steadying her through touch.

"It's alright. It is normal to be scared. Only do not let your fear cloud your judgement. Trust in yourself, as I do."

Together, Master and Padawan shared a tender moment, each seeking peace and comfort in the other's company and presence. They remained there for some time yet, meditating together in peaceful silence. A gentle knock on the door brought them back to reality.

Shaak Ti stood up, opening the door and smiling at the Arc Trooper standing before her. "Sir, all preparations are made for next week."

"So soon? Well done. Then we shall see you next week for the graduation ceremony."

"Yes, sir."

Shaak Ti turned, giving her Padawan a smile before gesturing to her saber.

"Come now. Let us practice your forms."

The following week went by smoothly. Graduation had been set up, all armor and blasters issued out and ready to go just the night before the ceremony. Navonod had been making rounds, making her goodbyes to the troops, wishing them well. She was present the next day, wearing her ceremonial Padawan robes, lightsabers gleaming brightly. She stood in the center of stage, a little ways back and to the side, so as not to draw attention away from Master Shaak Ti, who was to speak.

The last of the troops lined up and were ready to go. They were all a perfect machine, each and every one of them ready to fight.

She regarded them all with a proud look. On either side of her, two commanding troopers,and behind her, her Padawan.

"Today, is your graduation," she began, her voice echoing in the hangar. "From here, you ship out to fight against the Separatists, and restore peace to the Republic. Congratulations. You are no longer Cadets. You are Troopers. May the Force be with you." She looked to one of the commanding troopers who stepped forward, giving the command.

"Attention! Helmets, on!" They began to lead their troopers onto the waiting transport carriers, with Shaak Ti having turned her back so she could watch them board.

Once the last of the troopers was aboard, the ceremony was over. Shaak Ti held her hands behind her back, her arms hidden by her sleeves. The rest of the troopers present all began to go about their business. Navonod joined her Master at her side, watching the Troopers go.

"There they go, Master. Another Division of troops."

"You sound disappointed, my Padawan."

"I'll just miss them is all. There are good friends aboard those carriers."

"Then why don't you join them, little one?"

"Master?"

Shaak Ti turned to face her Padawan, presenting the box to her. "I spoke to the Jedi Council. They have agreed with my assessment, that you have learned all you could under me here, that you need to be out there, learning from the world now. You are still a Padawan, remember that. But…your wish has been granted."

Navonod squealed, but quickly disguised it by clearing her throat. "Thank you, Master! Thank you so much!"

"Well at least open your present before you go," Shaak Ti teased, handing the box over. Navonod grinned and pulled the box open, gasping at the armor piece. It was pure white, similar in design to the one most Jedi wore out in the field.

"It has extra padding to keep you safe but…I tried to have it not be as bulky as possible. I know how you like to move around in battle," Shaak Ti supplied, gesturing to the formfitting padding underneath, "and I also included a pouch for your meditation beads."

Navonod smiled brightly, eyes glimmering yet again.

"Master, would it be untoward of me to hug you right now?"

Shaak Ti let out a chuckle and shook her head. "No little one, you may do so."

The moment the words left her lips, Shaak Ti found herself engulfed in a tight hug, consoling her young Padawan, the box having been dropped to the ground.

"You will be alright. I promise."

"Thank you, Master. For everything," Navonod mumbled into her shoulder, her voice thick and shaky with emotion. Shaak Ti smiled and gave her Padawan's head a few strokes to calm her down.

"Come now. Calm yourself. If you are to be a Commander, you must act the part! Chin up, shoulders back. Good."

"Thank you, Master," Navonod said again, gulping hard.

"You are most welcome, my little Navii. Now go, Captain Cody is waiting for you."

She turned and saw Cody, who was approaching the two of them. Shaak Ti raised her arm in acknowledgement and Cody sent a nod back in response.

Navonod picked up her box and closed it again, taking a deep breath and smiling under the veil. "But Master, what will you do alone here?"

"What I always did, train troopers. I think I've done a fine job so far, wouldn't you say Captain Cody?" she added, asking Cody as he approached them.

"Yes, sir. Wouldn't be where I am without your training. Ready to go, Commander?"

Navonod paused for a moment then released her pent-up breath. "I'm ready, Captain." Cody nodded and saluted Shaak Ti, then turned and began to lead the way back. Navonod followed, sending a few looks back. Half way to the transport shuttle she asked Cody to stop for a moment.

Cody did so, turning back and watching as the Padawan ran to her retreating Master's figure. He saw the two of them exchange words, then saw the Master gently flick her finger against the Padawan's forehead. And though he couldn't see it, he knew she was smiling brightly. She ran back and apologized for the delay, and boarded the craft. Together the two took off, with Shaak Ti watching the departure until her eyes could no longer make out the ship from the stars.

Navonod sighed and she reclined back into her chair, running her hands over the box her Master had given her.

"So Captain Cody, I have a question," Navonod began, but Cody interjected.

"You can just call me Cody, Commander. General Kenobi does all the time. What's your question, sir?"

"Oh, well that was it. Which Jedi are you working with? General Kenobi…he's General Skywalker's Master isn't he?"

"Yes, sir."

The rest of the trip was spent in comfortable silence, at least until they boarded the ship. Her trepidation and nervousness were back, as she walked along the halls of the Jedi cruiser.

"Be honest with me, Cody. Should I be worried? What if he doesn't like me? Is he a strict Master?"

Cody opened his mouth to speak, but instead another man spoke from behind her.

"Well you can ask him yourself, though I hear tell he's rather easy going."

Navonod turned, smiling weakly at the Master before her.

"Master Kenobi. It's an honor to meet you."

"Padawan E'Gatsoh. Master Shaak Ti spoke very highly of you. Oh, you did give her my regards, didn't you?" he asked Cody, who shrugged.

"Must have slipped my mind, General," Cody shot back with a grin.

"Ah, well. I'm sure she'll forgive me just this once."

Navonod looked at the exchange with incredulity. She thought she was the only one who was insistent on informality among troopers and Jedi. Obi-Wan looked at her confusion and smiled.

"Don't worry, Cody is a good friend. We all blur the line between soldier and commanding officer here. So! Follow me, I'll show you to your quarters, let you get settled, and then there's a quick test to take."

So caught off guard was she that she could think of nothing to say other than, "I—I didn't study."

Obi-Wan smiled warmly and gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry," he said leaning in and pretending to whisper a secret, "neither did I." The bridge erupted into chuckles, and at once, Navonod felt a bit more at ease. She followed Obi-Wan as he began to show her where everything was on the ship.

"Ah, a going away present?" Obi-Wan asked, gesturing to the box as he walked down the halls.

"Yes, Master. Master Shaak Ti got me this beautiful armor piece."

"I'd definitely put it on. You'll want to get used to having it on at all times."

"Do all Jedi wear them?"

"Not all, no. Master Secura chooses to wear no armor at all, as does Padawan Tanno. I wear these pieces here, while Master Skywalker wears just the chest piece. Master Pong Krell only wears arm bracers if I'm correct, and only on two of his four arms. It's all a matter of what you're comfortable with," Obi-Wan explained, his hands behind his back as he walked. She liked that. It reminded her of her own Master. Obi-Wan glanced over at her, seeing her unease, and smiled again. "It'll get easier," he said, still looking ahead.

"Master?"

"Master Shaak Ti. You'll wish you were back with her, back where it's safe and you know where everything is. This is all new. It's alright to be a little hesitant."

"Thank you, Master. I just don't want to be a nuisance."

Obi-Wan let out a chuckle, pressing a button on a panel, which caused a door to slide open, revealing modest quarters inside. "Don't worry. No one will ever be a bigger nuisance than—"

At that moment, an explosion rocked the ship. At once, alarms blared and the lights flashed red. A clone trooper ran up to the two of them, his helmet slightly askew.

"Sir! A Separatist ship has just come out of hyperspace sir! There's a Repubilc ship as well! It's the _Resolute_, sir!"

Obi-Wan groaned and turned back to Navonod. "—Anakin Skywalker." he finished his sentence, holding out his hand to help her off the ground.

"Put that on, and meet me in the bridge," he said, gesturing to her armor and running off.

Navonod carefully transferred her meditation beads to the pouch, tied it to her belt, and quickly slipped the armor on as best she could. She looked in the mirror, regarding herself for a moment. She felt almost silly, looking at herself in the mirror, but she couldn't help it. She slipped off the armor, pulled off her robes, and slipped the armor on again, this time donning the robes over it. She paused with alarm; she looked quite similar to her visions of N'aviiya. She shrugged the robe off and left it on the bed, then ran off towards the bridge, one lightsaber in hand.

Obi-Wan nodded to her arrival, as he spoke to Anakin and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tanno.

"Alright, Anakin. Pull around behind us, let your ship's shields recharge. We'll cover you as best we can. Once your shields are charged, divert them to the rear of the ship."

"Why, are we gonna—who's this?"

"Ah, Anakin this is—"

"Nav! It's so good to see you!" Ahsoka cried, jumping out from behind Anakin, who growled and shouldered her. Ahsoka glared at her Master in response, earning a shake of the head at the two of them From Obi-Wan.

"And that was my Padawan. I'm Anakin."

"Master Skywalker, I'm Padawan Navonod E'Gatsoh. Master Shaak Ti's pupil."

"Shaak Ti? Well then you _must _be pretty good," he offered with a smile. Navonod sent back an embarrassed shrug.

"So, you were saying? We're reversing into them, then we're blowing the thrusters at full capacity at the main deck?"

"What? What, no! No, that's the opposite of what I'm saying!"

"Blow the main deck, got it."

"Anakin!"

But it was too late. Anakin had already cut the holo call. Sure enough, the Separatist ship had drawn back from the presence of two Republic ships, giving Anakin the space he needed to recharge. He made his way past Obi-Wan's , reversing right next to the ship.

"I don't…what's he doing?"

"Not what I said. You won't need that," he added, gesturing to her lightsaber. She blushed and hooked it back on her belt.

"Ahsoka called you Nav?"

"It's just a nickname we came up with as younglings."

"I may use it, it's easier to say than 'Padawan Navonod'."

"Of course, Master!"

"Cody, how are the main guns?"

"Primed and ready to fire, sir!"

"Good. Keep them that way. We're going to charge straight for that ship, but be ready to veer off course sharply on my mark. I want all guns firing on that ship until we're out of range."

"Yes, sir!"

"And do be careful with her Cody, the paint is brand new."

It was only a few more minutes of waiting before Anakin signaled his ready. Obi-Wan charged ahead as well, careful to keep his ship a safe distance away from Anakin's.

The Separatist ship didn't know which ship to target so it did it's best to shoot both. At the last moment, Obi-Wan veered off course, allowing Anakin to reverse his ship closer to the main command deck of the Separatist ship. He gunned his engines, at just the right time, halting his backwards movement and frying the command deck all at once.

Moments later the Separatist ship began to sink out of space, careening off into the unknown. Anakin appeared back on the holo call.

"Ah that was fun! So, Nav was it? Welcome to the War."

"_I _call her Nav!"

"And? Ahsoka, you don't have a patent on someone's name!"

"But we—"

Obi-Wan sighed exhaustedly and hung up, shaking his head. "Those two act less like Master and Padawan and more like an old married couple, " he joked, chuckling when Navonod wrinkled her nose in response.

"Cody?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Would you see to it that this Padawan is taken back to her quarters and given a proper meal?"

"What about the test?"

"Well…I _am_ a Jedi Master, I can make fighting a Separatist ship your test."

"But I didn't do anything."

"You did just fine. Knowing when to lay still and observe is just as important as knowing when to act. Act too hastily and you may just end up making matters worse. You've had a little too much excitement for one day. Go. Rest," Obi-Wan said kindly, giving her a comforting pat on the shoulder. She smiled and turned, following Cody out of the command deck.

"Oh and, Nav?"

"Yes, Master?"

"It suits you," Obi-Wan replied, gesturing to the armor. She gave a bright smile and walked off with Cody.

Author's Note: yay! Hello! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! I kept it long on purpose, I promise the rest won't be so unbearably long! I just wanted y'all to have as much content to read the first time around! Critiques are welcome! I do apologize for any lapses in continuity in regards to lore!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Hello hello! I forgot to include a disclaimer last time, so I'll throw it in now and pray that the Disney overlords don't come crashing down upon me: Any characters or ideas mentioned or referenced in this chapter or any past and future chapters in this fictuous work that have any correlation to the Star Wars universe are property of Disney, not the author.

Moving on! Let's get down into it! I had some great feedback last time, thank you all for your input! I do apologize for the delay, I took a pretty serious injury to my hand that's restricted me from typing with said hand at all. Thank you to all (three) of my fans for your continuous support and patience!

The decrepit ruins had remained untouched.

Crumbling buildings were as they had been, dust and debris gathered on the floor. No life grew, not even the smallest of weeds or insects.

There were several layers of grime and dirt collected on the floor. The very air was untouched, dust from an age long gone floating about drunkenly.

Skeletons lay scattered everywhere, some still wearing their black robes. A few had sinister looking masks and helmets on their heads. Many of them were cut down, missing a limb or two, or in some cases, the entire body above or below the waist. In some cases, skeletal hands still tightly gripped lightsabers. A silence lay over this mass grave, heavy and unyielding. If Death had an abode, it was here.

And yet, despite the ruin, despite the disarray and chaos about the place, the pyrimidine structure stood pristine and unscathed, save for the bodies that littered its structure. At the summit, a crypt, with two lone figures, one in black robes, cut down, and the other in lighter colored robes of muted whites and beiges. This figure was in a more meditative stance, unlike the other skeletons that were splayed out, displaying their dying moments.

It was on its knees, it's hands gripped around the lightsaber that was pointed directly at its chest, a hole having burned through front to back, clear through where it's heart would have been.

A crack disturbed the silence. Stone upon stone, cracking and crumbling. A deep rumbling sound could be heard, echoing around the desolate area. Nearby, it appeared as though a sinkhole caved in, but a closer inspection revealed that the carefully formed hole was in fact a passageway, built by a Force user.

The figure wore a low hooded robe, which, despite the exertion that was apparent from its heavy breathing, it refused to remove. It leapt out of the passageway, landing on solid ground with its red lightsaber drawn. However, the figure soon dropped down to one knee, grunting with the effort of withstanding the sheer overwhelming presence of the Dark Side. It gripped its head, its grunts of exertion slowly turning into loud groans.

It took a few moments, but the figure was finally able to stand, albeit without much balance or sure footing. The figure did its best to approach the pyrimidine structure, pausing every few steps to recenter itself.

Although the figure had let its tunnel out quite close to the structure, it still took well over an hour before it finally reached the stones. It looked up in horror, at the summit. Its eyes trailed down from the summit, falling upon Sith body after Sith body. Even in death, one could feel the sheer Evil of the Sith here. The pain and anger behind their lightsabers. The figures eyes trailed all the way down to the foot of the structure, near which lay a fallen Sith, a lightsaber loosely gripped in its skeletal remains. The figure knelt, reaching out with a shaking hand. It withdrew, wringing its hands in an attempt to shake away the terror.

"Just the nerves," the figure whispered aloud to itself, but even so, its words, barely audible, seemed to echo across the desolate plains. It reached out again, reaching slowly, tentatively, towards the fallen Sith's lightsaber. Its finger hardly grazed the cold dusty surface of the weapon before the figure saw flashes of the history of the saber before its eyes. Mere glimpses but it could definitely feel the hatred behind the weapon, could feel how much pain and sorrow it had caused, how much suffering and rage its owner harbored inside. And though it didn't seem possible given how dead and barren things were, everything seemed to freeze in time. The figure raised its head, looking about.

Something had awoken. Out of nowhere, a thick heavy fog crept towards the structure, clouding the plains from view. The figure drew its own lightsaber, reaching down and making to grab the one by its feet, but glanced at it. There was no way it, or indeed anyone, could handle such a weapon, one that had been stewing in Evil and had been imbued with the Dark Side of the Force for so many years. It was too dark, too powerful now. The figure shook its own head and grasped its own saber in both hands, readying itself.

A black cloud of smoke emanated from the fog. It appeared as a twist of the fog at first and the figure thought that perhaps it was just the trick of the light. But no, it was too dark, and there cloud seemed to act against the flow of the fog. As the cloud grew stronger, it lengthened. The fog gave way as the smoke approached, showing the imposing figure of a man.

The shadowy menace took great rattling breaths in and out, but despite the suggested fragility, the figure could tell it was impossibly powerful, even in death. It's mask was unlike other Sith masks. It did not do what most Sith masks did, which was to mask the emotion behind an expressionless false face. This Sith mask looked closer to a witch doctor's mask: indeed, it appeared to be made not of processed metal, but rather manually hammered out metal. The mask had two vertical lines cut into it. These were to resemble cheekbones, but on an extremely elongated face, and the lines were wider at the top, angling smoothly into a 45-degree angle to allow the user to see. Unlike most Sith masks, which lacked any sort of paint, this was painted with intricate symbols all over. The menace stood well over 10 feet tall, its eight arms crossed.

"I know you." The smaller figure said softly. The shadowy menace remained stoic, watching its adversary. "Darth Morteus."

At once, the smokey figure materialized fully and lunged at the smaller figure, stopping short just inches from grabbing it.

"Who are you? Why have you come?"

"What happened here? I must know."

"Be you Jedi or Sith?"

The figure remained silent.

"With whom do you align? Dark or Light?"

Still, the figure remained silent.

"Fine. Hold your tongue if you must. Listen closely then…"

"Anakin how many times must I tell you, we don't have the numbers to take on such heavily armed numbers!"

"You misunderstand, Master. It would only be a small invading force! No more than five or six!"

"And how exactly do you plan on having a single squad of troopers infiltrate and take out General Grievous and his new ship?"

Navonod watched the two Jedi bicker between themselves. It had been only three months since she had joined Master Obi-Wan at his side. Under his guidance, and at Anakin's lack of thought before acting, they'd gotten into many an adventure. It had taken her quite some time to remember that Master Shaak Ti was not waiting for her back in her room. Still, she wrote it all down in a journal. It was a silly thing to do, keeping a journal, especially in such an outdated method as manually writing one's words by hand when there were machines that could record your words for you. But she enjoyed the process of writing, it soothed her mind.

Thus far, she'd written in quite a few pages already, and had just finished up the last page of her entry when Cody arrived to inform her of her needed presence at the bridge. It was there that she met Master Anakin Skywalker in person. He certainly cut an imposing figure, in some ways more so than Obi-Wan. However, Navonod had soon come to understand that what Obi-Wan lacked in imposing presence, he made up for with cunning, patience, and a powerful presence lurking beneath the surface. And even if she couldn't have sensed it, logic made it so; Obi-Wan was one of the three most successful generals. His battalion had needed the least number of replacement troops as well, mostly due to the daring missions he and Anakin went on, but also in no small part due to Obi-Wan's ability to see ahead and calculate his opponent's moves.

"Well Master, I never said it would be a squad of _troopers_," Anakin said with a grin. Cody glanced over at Rex, who nodded, and the both of them began to check their gear. Navonod leaned over to Cody, her arms still crossed. One of the advantages to wearing a veil all the time was that she never had to worry about hiding her mouth from anyone who might be trying to eavesdrop at a distance.

"Cody, what are you two doing?"

"Well Commander, whenever General Skywalker has a plan, it's usually Rex and I that get to go along. Which means the four of you will be going."

"The four of us?"

"Better ready up, kid," Rex commented with a nod. Navonod replied with a silent nod, her arms crossed as she stood silently, waiting for the Jedi to make up their mind.

"Well it looks as though you've thought this out quite well," Obi-Wan started, stroking his beard contemplatively.

"Thank you, Master," Anakin saisd with a proud grin, smirking at Ahsoka, who simply rolled her eyes.

"For a Padawan."

"Obi-Wan, come on."

"I'm sorry Anakin, but this is a bad plan. I'd go as far as to say it's irresponsible and, well, stupid."

"Well it might be a stupid plan but it's not the worst."

"I agree, there are greater heights of stupidity."

"Like what?"

"Well that depends, how tall are you, Anakin?"

The bridge erupted in chuckles, and Anakin grumbled to himself. "I'm gonna go get ready." Anakin growled. He didn't much appreciate being humiliated on the bridge in front of his troops. Ahsoka followed along, watching her Master. He was irritated to say the least, but she chalked it up to stress. As it was, Anakin was already beginning to calm down.

"Nav, do you feel up to your next mission?" Obi-Wan asked, gesturing for her to walk alongside him. Cody and Rex both gave her nods as they left to go prepare their gear.

"Yes, Master. Of course!" she replied, eager to prove herself. Master Shaak Ti's words hadn't left her mind. She had to prove to the world, for Master Shaak Ti, how great a Jedi she'd become. If this mission was a success, it would be the first step towards that goal.

"Just remember, patience is key. General Grievous is a dangerous man to underestimate. He's a brilliant strategist, so there's every possibility that he's prepared for this mission. He didn't get to be where he is today without the knowledge he has."

"I've heard stories, he's the one who collects Jedi's lightsabers, right?"

"The very one."

"I'll make sure to try and get a few back," Navonod grinned, but Obi-Wan turned to face her immediately, going as far as to put his arm up to stop her from walking further. She paused and looked up at him curiously.

"Under no circumstances are you to face General Grievous alone. He's difficult enough for Anakin and myself, there is absolutely no chance of me allowing you to face him alone. If you find him, you run and hide till I get there, is that clear?"

Navonod chewed her lip as she looked up at Obi-Wan. Another advantage to the veil across her face; she didn't have to hide her expressions. It made no sense. If she was so inexperienced, why would Obi-Wan allow her to come along on such a mission in the first place? Come to think of it, why was he allowing her near such a dangerous opponent at all? Perhaps he only meant that she should be careful, not that she should run.

"Is that clear, Nav?" Obi-Wan asked again.

She worried then, that perhaps Obi-Wan wouldn't allow her to play as large a role in the mission as she had hoped. She didn't care for the glory of it all, that wasn't the Jedi way and she honestly couldn't care less about her reputation in the war. But she did want to be renowned for her Master. She wanted to be able to tell people that she was the way she was because of Master Shaak Ti's training. But that couldn't happen until she was given more responsibility. What if she was left merely to watch the doors or to keep an eye on the ship?

"Nav?" Obi-Wan asked again, this time frowning in concern.

"Yes, Master. I was just lost in thought is all. I'll be careful."

Obi-Wan regarded her with a squint of suspicion in his eyes but turned and led the way towards Anakin's ship. Ahsoka and Anakin were already on board, doing the usual pre-flight checkups. Rex and Cody had just boarded when Obi-Wan and Navonod entered the hangar.

"Well look who decided to show up," Anakin mocked playfully.

"Well Anakin, you tend to make such a big mess during these missions, I paused to wonder if we shouldn't bring a clean-up crew with us."

"Ha, ha," Anakin replied sarcastically, more focused on getting the ship ready. Rex and Cody were already strapped in and ready to go, and Navonod sat down across from them.

If she had more time, she would have crossed the Force Veil yet again to scour her past life's memories. Perhaps there was a similar mission she had been on? She had to remind herself however, that it was not something Obi-Wan wanted her doing too often.

He'd had her run through a training exercise, to gauge how much he needed to teach her, however she had performed remarkably well, enough so that it was almost as if she had known what challenges were coming ahead.

They had sat down and discussed her performance, where she lacked, what she could improve on, where she'd excelled. It was during this part of the discussion that she'd mentioned her ability, something Master Yoda had recounted to Obi-Wan.

"I admit, I don't know much about the Force Veil. It's a mystery even among the Jedi Council. However, I don't want you using it all the time. You grow not only as an individual, but also as a Jedi, by making your own mistakes, being held accountable for your own actions. Copying someone else's well…that wouldn't make you any better than the droids we cut down. Besides, I've seen how much it wears you down to use it. I can't have you coming into battle with me half asleep, can I?"

She had resisted thus far, and hadn't realized just how often she'd been relying on her past life to get her through. It had taken a few weeks of dedicated meditation for her to learn how to access the Force Veil without consuming so much energy. Even so, the sessions left her drained and exhausted. Even Obi-Wan felt quite tired after meditation, usually a relaxing activity.

Navonod thought back to her first nightmare, the first one she'd had on Coruscant at least. She'd awoken half the younglings in the room with her screams and had to be given her own space. They thought her nightmares had ended when only two nights later, she awoke yet again, screaming in terror.

_She sat up straight, her eyes darting left and right, trying wildly to make sense of her surroundings. Her eyes were working faster than her brain, which was still in the dream world. She recognized the opening of the door, but not immediately. A figure in white robes entered, carrying an unusually long lightsaber hilt: A Jedi Temple Guard. Though he did not have his lightsaber lit, he did look ready to use it just in case. Behind him, another Jedi, this one a Twi'lek. She had a brilliant blue hue to her skin and large hazel eyes, and wore a long sweeping brown robe._

_It was only now that Navonod realized the screaming she heard was coming from her own mouth. She promptly stopped screaming, hugging her own knees to her chest and rocking back and forth. The Jedi Temple Guard relaxed, but only slightly, standing back in the corner for Aayla to step forward. _

"_What ever is the matter, youngling? What troubles you so?" she asked, kneeling by Navonod. _

"_It's the same dream," the youngling gasped out between breaths, still shivering. Her shirt was soaked in sweat, and her bedsheets were knotted and twisted around her, "I keep seeing it again and again. Get it out of my head!" she cried, falling forward and laying her head in Aayla's lap. The older Jedi's brow furrowed with concern and she stroked the youngling's hair as she sat back and thought. _

_She placed her fingertips on the girl's temples, reaching into her mind with the Force. At once she was met with two things that surprised her. One, the sheer indescribable amount of turmoil within her mind. The second, the strength of the wall that shot up immediately after. She withdrew and looked down at the girl, who didn't seem any wiser as to what had just happened. An intrinsic skill? In any case, Aayla knew she was not the Jedi to handle this. There was only one who could and he was likely not even asleep anyway._

"_Come with me, little one. Up you get, that's it," she said gently, providing words of encouragement. Taking Navonod's hand, she guided the youngling through the corridors of the Jedi Temple. As she did, she watched her behavior, noticing that the young girl's attention was drawn to the strangest of places; she didn't look up and around at the vast pillars or the high ceilings of the hall, nor did she look at any of the hanging tapestries of Jedi Masters long passed, unlike most younglings who passed through the halls. Instead, Navonod looked at certain doorways, at random, seemingly inconspicuous, spots in hallways, at certain windows. But finally they arrived at their destination. _

"_Wait here for me, little one. I promise you, you will be safe. The Jedi Temple Guard will watch over you."_

_Aayla Secura entered the room after a knock, and left the girl outside with two Guards. She looked up at them curiously, both of whom remained stoic and unyielding. So still were they that she doubted they were even alive and were it not for one of them adjusting his stance, she would have thought they really were statues._

_Inside, Aayla Secura sat before Master Yoda. _

"_Worried you are, about this youngling, yes? Why?"_

"_I do not know, Master Yoda. I do not believe these to be mere dreams. I gazed into her mind temporarily and…"_

"_Great turmoil you saw, yes?"_

"_Yes, Master," Aayla said, frowning with worry, "But also the strength of her mental defenses. It appears to be some sort of subconscious defense mechanism. Or perhaps something hidden deep and repressed. She is terrified. Of herself, of her surroundings. I do not know what it is that causes her such trouble."_

_Yoda closed his eyes, taking some deep breaths. Aayla did the same, if only to stop from fidgeting. After a few moments of silence, Yoda opened his eyes and stood, grasping his walking stick. _

"_Worry not. Work with the youngling, I shall. The source of these nightmares, we shall find, yes? The youngling, where is she now?"_

"_I have brought her with me. She awaits outside."_

"_Hrmm…Go. Rest. A long day ahead, have you not?" he answered, walking with her to the door. It slid open and Aayla exited, kneeling down beside Navonod, who took a few steps back._

"_Calm, youngling. This is Master Yoda. I believe he can help you with your nightly worries. Go with him, learn as much as you can."_

_The girl nodded and gripped her hands tightly behind her back to hide her nervousness. Aayla nodded and stood, adjusting her robes before turning back to the jade Jedi. _

"_Good night, Master Yoda."_

"_Good night, Master Secura. Come, youngling. Trouble sleeping you have, Master Secura says?" Yoda said kindly. He was old and slow, but very kind. And for some unknown reason, she trusted him, despite having never seen him before. She followed him inside. As he walked by it, Yoda tapped a meditation mat for her to sit on. He clambered up on his own meditation pedestal with some struggle. _

"_Can I help, Master Yoda?" she offered, but Yoda simply chuckled as he settled down. _

"_Help me? With what? Not so old am I, that I cannot sit, hmm? Worried you are for me in my old age, hmm?" he said teasingly. It earned him a smile on her scarred face. He returned the smile and closed his eyes, a silent command for her to do the same. _

_Navonod sat down, closing her eyes. For a while, both took deep meditative breaths. "Peace, youngling. Your mind…troubled, it is. Sense much fear in you, I do."_

"_Yes, Master. I'm scared."_

"_What of? What is it you see?"_

"_I see…something. A tall building. It's large, very large. It's raining and it's nighttime. But the lightning flashes and everytime it does I see more and more dark figures on the building. They all have red lightsabers."_

"_The Sith. Frighten you, do they?"_

"_No, Master."_

_Yoda opened his eyes, peering down at the girl, who still had her eyes closed, tightly now. _

"_No?"_

"_No. I'm scared because I don't turn and run away. I'm running at them. I want to hurt them, I want to kill them. I _do_ kill them," Navonod cried, getting increasingly more agitated. Yoda sensed this and reached out, placing his palm on her forehead. He, too, looked into her mind and was able to see what she was seeing, if only for a brief moment, before the walls shot up again. However, he managed to work around it rather than break through it, and continued to see. His mental presence in her mind calmed the girl considerably. _

"_Go on," he coaxed, his voice low and gentle. "When 'I kill them', you say, when use the word 'I' you do, as yourself or as another you are in your mind?"_

"_I—I don't…I don't know…"_

"_Look down youngling. At your hands. Are they your own? Your lightsaber, is it your own?"_

_Navonod played through the nightmare again and again, and realized that he was partially right._

"_No, Master. They…aren't _mine_, but they feel like mine."_

"_The lightsaber you wield. Connected to it, are you? Or merely a tool, it is?"_

"_No, Master, it's definitely connected to me. But I don't know why. It feels so familiar. But I know I've never seen it. The hands, I don't recognize them, but they still feel like they're mine. It's not me but…it _is_ me."_

_Navonod finally broke the connection, slouching forward with the exertion. Yoda was impressed that she'd managed to hold on for so long; even with his considerable help, he hadn't expected her connection to the Force to last as clearly for as long as it did._

_Navonod looked up, worry etched across her face. Yoda simply smiled down at her. "Worry not, young one. Come. A walk we shall take, yes?"_

"_A walk?"_

"_When walking in a line, in a circle one ends up, yes? A new path you must take, to see a new perspective, hmm?" Yoda replied, standing up and making his way to the door._

"_But…a walk?" she said, standing up nevertheless and looking at Yoda's walking stick just as the door slid open. _

"_Worried are you, that too slow you will be for me? Worry not, youngling. For you, walk slowly I shall, hmm?" he replied with a chuckle, then led the way out of his room. Despite her troubles, Navonod couldn't help but giggle at his jokes. For some reason, she felt as if she'd heard that joke before. But it wasn't possible, it was her first time meeting him. Perhaps she had heard it in passing?_

_No, she was sure she would have recognized his voice. _

_As they walked about, Yoda kept an eye on the youngling. He kept her engaged in conversation, noting areas where she paused for no apparent reason, unassuming locations in the Temple where her eyes lingered too often, or where her gait slowed. They had spent the entire night walking about, into the early hours of the morning. It wasn't until then that Navonod noticed they had visited the same area for the sixth time, the doors leading to an unoccupied Jedi's quarters. She stopped abruptly, giving Yoda cause to turn around and face her again. _

"_Tired, are you?"_

"_No, Master. It's just…we've been here before."_

"_Yes, youngling. Passed these halls many times, we have."_

"_Perhaps I _am_ getting tired, Master, I should have noticed after the fourth time."_

"_Four? But youngling, only three rounds we have made."_

"_No, we made six," Navonod replied, frowning with confusion. She looked down at the floor, recalling their walk. "…didn't we?"_

_Yoda gestured for her to enter the room with him, and so they did. At once, she felt reminiscent. "Master, where are we?"_

"_Took quite some time, it did, yes. But unearthed the source of your dreams, I have. Come, sit."_

_Together they sat down, Yoda on the bed and Navonod on the floor. _

"_A rare ability you have, youngling. Separated from the dead, are the living. But only by a thin veil, hmm? The ability to cross this Force Veil, you have. Your past life, all her memories, strengths, skills…yours now, they are. But her fears, weaknesses, share them as well you now do."_

_Navonod chewed her lower lip in thought, looking down at the dust by the foot of the bed. Her bed. Or…her past bed? She was already confused. The biggest question she had now had nothing to do with how to deal with the memories, what to do, what the Force Veil was. Instead, she asked: _

"_Who was I, Master Yoda?"_

_A simple question, with a complicated answer. _

"_A difficult answer that is, young one. But give it, I shall. A Jedi Master with us, you were. A teacher to many. A healer. A powerful warrior. But above all these, something far greater you were to us." _

"_What's that, Master Yoda?"_

_Yoda looked down at her face, and sighed, his own heart breaking, just as it had all those years ago when he first learned of Master N'aviiya's passing. _

"_A friend."_

Navonod was jerked from her musings when Anakin docked the ship, a rather rough docking. She gasped lightly and looked around, steadying herself against the seat.

"Hey, kid, you alright?" Rex asked, receiving a nod in response.

"Just…lost in thought," Navonod answered, standing up and drawing a lightsaber from her belt. Rex and Cody stood with her, readying their weapons.

"Best not to do that out here, Commander," Cody advised, giving her a nudge with his elbow. She gave a chuckle, her mind now back in the present. Obi-Wan approached the two of them, with Anakin and Ahsoka in tow.

"Alright, we all know what we have to do. Get in, sabotage the hyperdrive, launch the escape pods, demolish the ship's defenses, take down the shield generator, disengage the lateral stabilizers and then-"

"Get back to our ships, and blow this hunk of junk out of the sky," Anakin finished with a confident smirk to the rest of them. Obi-Wan remained silent, but nodded in agreement, stroking his beard as always. Ahsoka smiled to Navonod, who sent her a nod in return. She couldn't exactly smile back, not with the veil in the way. And as much as she trusted the people she was with, she still didn't feel comfortable with sharing her scars. Not yet.

The docking port opened up, allowing entry into the enemy ship, where they were beset upon by a few patrolling droids.

At once, all four Jedi lunged, cutting down the four hapless droids in an instant before any alarm could be raised.

"So much for not stirring up any droids," Obi-Wan commented dryly. He turned to the rest of them, putting away his lightsaber as he did so.

"Alright. Ahsoka, what's closest to us?"

Ahsoka took a few seconds to fiddle with the handheld device, but it soon displayed a map of the ship. "The hyperdrive."

"Alright. Cody, get to the hyperdrive and sabotage it. Rex, head for the shield generator. Anakin, take out the ships guns. I'll take care of the lateral stabilizers. Ahsoka, get to the escape pods and launch them as soon as you can. Leave one, if there's a chance that Grievous may escape, we want it to be in the only pod left. If all goes to plan, he'll be none the wiser till it's too late."

Cody looked over to Navonod before turning and running off. Rex, too, turned and ran off. Ahsoka and Anakin ran off together, as for the time being, their locations were in the same direction. Obi-Wan looked at Navonod, who turned her back to him at the last moment and drew a saber, pretending to keep a guard on the hallway near the docking port.

"Nav…"

"It's okay, I'm just here to keep the ship safe. I know, Master."

"It's not that, Nav. I—"

An alarm began to blare. Obi-Wan groaned in frustration and drew his own saber as the sound of approaching droids could be heard from all sides.

"We're not done talking about this. I'll meet you back here in twenty minutes!" Obi-Wan called behind him as he ran off.

Navonod grumbled to herself slightly and drew her second saber, just in case. However, only a few squads of droids arrived. Furthermore, it was only battle droids, nothing she couldn't handle. She put away one of her sabers, and leapt towards a group of them, cutting through the droids with ease. It only took her a few minutes before all but one droid were destroyed.

"Where's General Grievous?"

"I'll never tell you, rebel scum!" the droid replied in it's surprisingly emotive robotic voice.

Navonod lit her saber, the tip of the blade just inches from the droid's face.

"He's by the lateral stabilizers on the third deck!" the droid cried loudly. Navonod rolled her eyes and cut the droid down, but its news was far too alarming for her to dwell on the droid's emotiveness. Grievous, somehow, had found out, and was setting a trap for Obi-Wan. Navonod rushed off as quickly as she could, both lightsabers lit and ready to go.

She slashed open the door to an elevator, peering down in the shaft. She could see the third deck from here, the door marked with a large "3", painted on the inner side of the elevator doors. She looked up and made sure there were no elevators coming before tossing her saber down the elevator and levitating it with the Force. The still lit saber hovered closer to the door, eventually carving a hole into it through her careful guidance. However, metal creaked from above and she looked up to see an elevator speeding down towards her.

"Oh come on," she growled, putting away the saber in her hand and diving down into the shaft. Terminal velocity could only help so much however. The elevator drew closer and closer even as she fell and Navonod realized she wouldn't have time to control the saber and slow her fall at the same time. She rolled in mid air, her back to the elevator doors she was speeding past, and at just the right moment, used all her might to Force push off the wall. The sudden change in trajectory launched her through her intended target, gate three, with the elevator speeding past not two seconds later. She lay on the floor, gasping for air, her second saber laying unlit and discarded.

She lay there on the floor for a moment, letting the unpleasant churning in her stomach come to a halt. "I'm never doing that again," she groaned, resting her head against the cold metal floors of the ship.

"At least the stabilizers are still in tact, otherwise we'd all be float—Obi-Wan!" Navonod cried out, sitting up instantly. She ran off, holding out her hand and summoning her saber to her. It was wonky in flight and slow to come, but come it did.

She ran down the hall and made her way to the stabilizers. She heard him however, before she saw him. Heavy, clanging steps. A mechanical hacking cough, a heavy Kaleesh accent.

"Prepare the battle droids. I want as many sentry droids as we have. Get destroyer droids, I want them in the front."

"The ones with the shields, General?" a battle droid asked innocently, getting backhanded out of the way as Grievous moved to issue the orders himself, coughing horribly yet again as he did so. He didn't look all that difficult.

Hunched over judging by the bulging of his back, She wasn't able to get a good view of his legs but the heavy footfalls suggested some sort of modification; perhaps mechanical legs to help him walk in his old age? Clearly, by the sound of his voice and the ever present cough, he must have had some sort of health problem in his age, hence the need for whatever device it was giving him the mechanical tones to his voice. She wasn't sure why Obi-Wan was so worried.

With a confident grin, she dove right in, holding out a hand and force pushing several droids off their feet and crumpling them against the wall behind. She drew her lightsaber and deflected a few bolts back, drawing the second and continuing her defense when the bolts became too numerous to deal with. Grievous watched for a bit, then held up his hand as a nonverbal signal for a cease fire.

"And what are you supposed to be?"

"I'm a—really? I'm a Jedi!"

"I think not," Grievous replied, waving his hand for her to turn around and look as the doorway had just opened. Not only were there several destroyer droids approaching but several battle droids as well. Grievous let out an ominous chuckle and turned away again, back to watching the other doorway for Obi-Wan.

Navonod thought quickly, ducking behind some nearby crates for cover. The battle droids from the front were gathering up as well. She wasn't sure she'd be able to work her way out of this.

She prepared herself for battle, ready to deflect bolts coming from the front. Her back was to the crates for now, she was confident she'd be okay.

"Throw your charges. Smoke the Jedi out," a robotic voice replied. Navonod peered out from the side momentarily to see the source.

A tactical droid stood nearby, standing behind a row of destroyer droids. "Damnit," Navonod cursed. She did her best to levitate the smoke grenades away from her but the overwhelming number of charges, not to mention the timing of them meant that, despite her best efforts, there was almost always another grenade sitting there ready for her to throw. She wasn't able to pick them up by hand either, as doing so would mean she'd have to step out of cover. To make matters worse, two sentry guards floated up above, sniping down at her. With the increasing cloud of smoke, deflecting the blasters was getting much more difficult.

Grievous turned back around, eyeing the commotion.

His Magnaguard moved to take over but Grievous growled in response. "Leave it! I'll deal with this child myself." The General began walking forward, cape trailing behind him. Navonod thought quickly and hurled her own lightsaber, using the Force to make the blade spin in the air. The blade sliced through the console on the opposite side of the wall, forcing the door to default to the shut position, much to the dismay of the sentry droid that was caught right under it and severed in two.

Navonod rolled out from the smoke and grabbed her lightsaber, coughing and gasping for fresh air. "Having lightsabers doesn't make you a Jedi, young one," Grievous said with a smirk, reaching into his cape and drawing two.

"Oh? On that, we can agree," Navonod replied, still gasping for air. Her eye's burned and watered, her lungs still feeling the remnants of smoke that she had accidentally inhaled. "Why don't you return those before you hurt yourself?" Navonod asked, gesturing to his lightsabers.

"The Jedi Order must be getting weak indeed if it sends it's worst students after the likes of me."

"You're right, we don't need Padawans for you. Even a protocol droid would be faster than you."

"I think not," Grievous growled, chuckling as he unclasped his cape. He straightened to his full intimidating height, and to make matters worse, unhooked his arms and grabbed the remaining two sabers from his hips, turning all four on at once. "Come, Padawan," he taunted.

Navonod felt a slight twinge of fear. Immediately her eyes darted around the facility, trying to find any form of escape. The door was locked behind her but even so, the droids were cutting through. Besides, even if it was open, there were far too many there for her to simply rush past. Before her, the General himself. And behind him, a similar number of droids, not to mention his two very agile and very dangerous Magnaguard. She wasn't entirely sure she would make it out.

Grievous gave a sinister laugh yet again, throwing Navonod for yet another loop when he began to spin his hands. The sabers in his hands began spinning dangerously, two at his left and right sides, one above him, and one right in front. It was a veritable wall of sabers and Nav wasn't sure she could get through, even if she jumped. Still, she had to try. She reached out with the Force and leapt high over Grievous to give her some space, Force pulling the remaining half of the sentry droid, Grievous was too quick however, and slashed it aside without even looking, while at the same time kicking her hard in the ribs. Navonod let out a cry and was sent careening down the smooth floors. She stood up, and only barely managed to dodge out of the way as Grievous stomped. He was a lot faster than he looked. And his limbs were able to bend and twist in all directions, meaning his only limitation was speed. Even so, his Magnaguard were likely to jump in and protect him at all costs so even if she did get the upperhand somehow, she would have to contend with those two as well. Grievous swung all four of his sabers viciously, and knocked Navonod back further when she tried to block. The narrow hallway made combat difficult as well, as she didn't have the space to walk around him. His sabers were also quite long, meaning that with every swing, at least one of the sabers was cutting into the surrounding walls causing sparks to fly and discombobulate her. Again, Grievous lashed out, savagely kicking her in the gut. He had even gone as far as to put away two of his sabers. His swings were far stronger now, breaking through Navonod's guard with each swipe. She could feel her arms beginning to shake and quiver. She had already overworked herself; she was in no position to take him on.

"Give up, youngling, and I'll make your death a quick one," Grievous smirked. The punishment had been continuing for the better part of ten minutes now. Grievous had long since put away all of his sabers and was taking pleasure in simply beating Navonod senseless. She too, had dropped her sabers and they lay discarded and unlit on the ground. Grievous was holding her up by her neck, and punched her hard in the face before swinging her overhead and slamming her painfully down on the ground.

He laughed again and walked around her, making sure to step on her hand and put all his weight on it before stepping off, causing the Jedi to cry out in pain.

"Give up. Say it. Tell me you quit," Grievous growled menacingly, punctuating each statement with another vicious kick to the gut.

"That's no way to treat a lady," A voice said calmly. Navonod turned her head, looking through the one eye that wasn't swollen shut, and recognized the form of Obi-Wan. However, despite the attempt at humor, his body language said otherwise.

"It's the proper way to treat a Jedi," Grievous replied. Obi-Wan summoned Navonod's lightsabers to him, hooking them on his belt before stepping forward and kneeling down by the Padawan's side. He checked up on her conditioned, clicking his tongue at some of the more serious injuries.

Grievous drew his sabers again this time, ready to use them. Obi-Wan was not an enemy to take easily. The Jedi Master lifted Navonod as carefully as he could, wincing at some of her pained groans.

"Where do you think you're going, Kenobi?"

"Well, you can't fight with a lady in the way. Or a Jedi for that matter," Obi-Wan replied. "I don't want to win just because you tripped."

Grievous growled but nevertheless took a few steps back, if only to give himself some more distance from Obi-Wan. The Jedi Master gently lay her down as best he could by the crates, hooking one of her sabers onto her belt; if for whatever reason she would need a weapon, at least she'd have that. Though in her state, she didn't look like she could even hold her own head up, let alone a lightsaber.

On the other side of the door, Anakin and the rest of the team lay in wait.

"I don't like having to wait here," Anakin growled. Rex nodded but remained silent.

"Master Kenobi might need more time to get Nav into position, that's all," Ahsoka replied, patting Anakin on the shoulder, "besides, the droids are cutting through the door for us, what's the harm in waiting?"

"We could do it faster," Anakin argued, but sighed and nodded, "You're right though. If Grievous still has her when we burst through, the first thing he'll do is kill her. We need to wait."

"Hey! I hear lightsabers in the other side! Hurry! The Jedi must have woken up again!" A droid called out. The others continued to work, with only a few inches left to cut. The tactical droid turned around, scanning the other hallway, which was suspiciously empty.

"You two. Go back to the bridge. And report back to me when you get there," The tactical droid commanded to two battle droids, both of which walked off without a word. So dimwitted were they that they didn't notice the two clones and two Jedi hiding in the shadows.

"We'll be through any second commander!" a droid called out. Anakin nodded to Cody and Rex, who took up positions in the middle of the hallway. Cody threw three grenades into the gathered droids, while Rex aimed with a rocket launcher he'd found stashed away, probably intended for some Separatist planet. The resulting explosion was not only enough to dispatch all droids, but also enough to blow the section of cut door rocketing forward. Obi-Wan, who saw it at the last minute, Leapt backwards brilliantly. Grievous growled and did his best to leap back as well, but it wasn't enough. He took the brunt of the damage, but even so, did his best to push the door to a halt. The Magnaguard leapt in immediately and both did their best to help push the door to a halt. They succeeded, but in that time, Obi-Wan had already grabbed Navonod and had left with the rest of his team back the way they came.

Together, the team rushed back towards the ship, Obi-Wan quickly switching the responsibility of watching Navonod to Cody, who lifted her over his shoulder and continued to shoot. The droids were too many to not warrant as many lightsabers as they could get. The two clones rushed through the docking port and Rex began to prep the ship for takeoff while Cody strapped Navonod into the seat carefully. Not long after, the Jedi rushed in, a few blaster bolts trailing after them.

"Go! Get us out of here!"

"I'm trying, Snips!"

Grievous was not about to let them go so easily however. Although their ship had undocked and was taking off towards the Republic cruiser, Grievous ordered his ship to be turned around so that all guns could target the retreating vessel.

"Blow them out of the sky!" Grievous cried angrily, watching with bated breath from the bridge.

"We can't, General."

"What?!"

"The Jedi disabled our guns. We can't fire."

"Turn us around then, and take us out of here."

"The hyperdrive is still being repaired, sir! It won't be ready for another half hour!"

Grievous let out a loud roar of frustration, angrily smashing the hapless droid to bits. "Foiled again by Kenobi."

The Jedi in question was currently tending to Navonod's wounds, as best he could.

"How's she looking?" Anakin asked, rushing for the cruiser.

"Not good, I'm afraid. The sooner we get her to a medic, the better. I'm afraid the medical droid on board doesn't have the resources needed. I've bandaged her as best I can."

"How did she even run into Grievous in the first place?" Ahsoka wondered aloud. Anakin focused on the flight ahead, unwilling to reply. Obi-Wan knew why but remained silent. He had warned her of how dangerous Grievous was and still she went after him. Still, part of it was his fault. He'd had some reservations about leaving her alone, especially after her cavalier promise. Both were to blame. He had to remember that she was a new Padawan, had never seen the war before. Most, if not all Padawan, tended to overestimate their abilities when they first entered the field. Obi-Wan glanced at the back of Anakin's head as if to reinforce that fact.

"Perhaps the Commander had to hide from approaching droids and ran into him?" Rex suggested with a shrug.

"Or maybe he was looking for her and chased her to the lateral stabilizers?" Cody supplied, pulling out a bandage from his pack for Obi-Wan to use, who graciously accepted it and wrapped her ribs gingerly. They were already turning a motley blue and black.

The group quickly docked their own ship, and a medical unit was on standby.

"Hurry. I've done what I can to help her but she's in grave condition," Obi-Wan said to the medical unit droid, which nodded and ambled off towards the med bay. The Jedi watched it go, hovering stretcher in tow.

Obi-Wan headed up to the bridge, Anakin and Ahsoka not far behind him.

"Admiral, prepare to fire upon the Separatist ship. Anakin, call the Jedi Council. We must inform them that General Grievous is soon to be destroyed."

"With that monster gone, who knows how much easier of a time we'll have with the rest of the droid armies," Ahsoka commented, but as the holo-call was being made, she silenced herself out of respect.

Masters Windu and Plo Koon answered, with the Chancellor alongside them.

"Master Windu, Master Plo, Chancellor," Anakin said, greeting each of his superiors. While the two Jedi Masters simply nodded, Chancellor Palpatine turned to face the young Jedi.

"Ah, Anakin," he said, a hint of relief in his voice, "it's good to see you're safe."

"Thank you, Chancellor. However, I have more good news. General Grievous is currently within firing range and his ships been disabled. We'll be taking him out momentarily," Anakin replied, a smile of pride and victory on his face. The Chancellor's, however, slid off his face.

"Anakin, I'm afraid I must ask you to withdraw that command."

"What? Why?!" Anakin asked, barely able to keep his disbelief in check. The other clones on deck turned as well, looking at the holo-call in disbelief, but quickly getting back to work.

"I'm afraid the other Senators feel that capturing General Grievous alive would be much more useful to the war effort. The knowledge he has is far too valuable."

"You can't be serious," Obi-Wan said, walking into view of the call and stopping beside Anakin, "General Grievous has control over the entire droid army. With him gone, the troops will be left leaderless. Even the best tactical droid couldn't replace him. This is the best—the _only—_step we can take to end the war sooner."

"Master Kenobi, I would agree with you, and indeed no one wants to see this war end sooner more than I, but the Senators feel that it is possible General Grievous may share the knowledge he knows upon his death. Err…the terminology escapes me."

"A failsafe," Anakin spat, crossing his arms and looking down in dismay, but he was already in agreement. "They're right. We can't afford to risk that. Grievous is almost entirely mechanical, it's completely plausible that he's got some sort of upload device hidden away that'll activate the moment his heart stops beating."

"Yes, I believe that was it," The Chancellor replied, feigning ignorance of the term. It put him in a safe spot in the minds of the present Jedi; from Anakin, he gained sympathy and understanding. After all, there was no way the Chancellor could be controlling Grievous when he didn't even know what a failsafe was. And from the other Jedi, he gained safety in ignorance, for much the same reason. So when Master Windu crossed his arms and pursed his lips in frustration, the Chancellor knew he was in the clear.

"In any case my boy, I'm afraid General Grievous must either be captured alive, or allowed to escape."

Anakin heaved a sigh of aggravation and nodded, gritting his teeth slightly to keep his outburst in check.

"Yes Chancellor. Master Windu, Master Plo," Anakin replied as a goodbye. Before they could finish, he ended the holo-call and ducked his head, breathing heavily.

"Master?" Ahsoka said tentatively.

"It's alright, Anakin. Let's not forget, we've almost entirely disabled his ship. It'll take them far too long to repair it, which will keep Grievous grounded, at least for the foreseeable future. That's a victory in and of itself," Obi-Wan supplied, placing a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. Anakin grumbled, but let out his pent up frustration in another sigh.

"You're right. Come on, Snips. Let's go check on Nav and get back to our ship. I'm sure there are more missions waiting for us," Anakin commented, walking off. Ahsoka looked back at Obi-Wan, who gave her a comforting nod and mouthed the words 'he'll be fine' to her. Ahsoka sent back a smile and followed after Anakin.

Unfortunately, Navonod was still unconscious after the abuse she'd taken. Though they hung around for as long as they could, Master and Padawan needed to depart.

Navonod didn't awaken for another three days. Obi-Wan came to check on her every day. He had even told Master Shaak Ti what had happened. It was a rude awakening call for the young Padawan. One that she wanted to discuss with Master Kenobi.

"Ah you're awake!" Obi-Wan cried, settling down in the chair beside her bed. Navonod blushed under the veil and fiddled with the hem of the bedsheet.

"Yes, Master," she answered, her voice still a bit strained. Obi-Wan handed a glass of water, which she graciously accepted with a mumble of thanks. He sat back and watched her sip a few times, waiting for her to begin conversation. There was a moment of awkward silence in which both waited for the other to begin. Obi-Wan finally decided to begin.

"So…"

"I screwed up."

"Yes, it was quite the upset."

"I almost ruined the mission."

"Not to mention you almost got yourself killed."

"Grievous was there with a trap."

"Any one of us could have been killed during your rescue."

At this, Navonod finally turned to face Obi-Wan, regarding him with an inquisitive look. "That…doesn't help me feel any better, Master."

"It's not supposed to," Obi-Wan said, sitting back in his chair and resting his ankle on his knee. "We could both sit here and go over all the mistakes you made during the mission," he paused here for effect, "or all the mistakes I made. Or the mistakes Ahsoka made, that Anakin made, that Rex made…you must remember that, in hindsight, everything appears clearer. Remember, we learn by looking back _and_ ahead. Learn from your mistakes," he said gently, leaning closer, his elbows on his knees.

Navonod sighed dejectedly and nodded. It couldn't be helped. Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully, considering what he knew of her. Master Shaak Ti had mentioned that Navonod tended to be quite hard on herself, especially during failure. It was during these times that humor worked best to get her out of it.

"For example, did I ever tell you about that time when my Master and I were stuck on Tatooine with Senator Amidala? I was a Padawan myself, I had only to take the trials and graduate, and Anakin, well he was just a boy. I remember, the first thing he did when he first arrived on Coruscant…"

For the rest of the evening, Master and Padawan laughed together. It was good for Obi-Wan as well; he hadn't realized just how much stress and tension had built up. It felt good to just let go and laugh. And despite there being a veil between them, he still felt he could trust the Padawan. There were certainly many Jedi in the Order that he would have been happy to work alongside but knew he couldn't trust them as far as he could throw them. Master Pong Krell came to the forefront of his mind.

Obi-Wan finally stood after sharing another hearty laugh with Navonod, who was certainly in much better spirits. "Listen, when you feel up to it, I want you to meditate on today. Don't sink into the what-if's and should-have's. Focus on what happened, as it happened, and what you can take away from it. Come speak to me when you do. But for now…rest."

A/N: I sincerely apologize for my disappearance, folks! I've had quite a few things in the works lately, lots of new projects I started (not just writing ones), and I'd taken a rather serious injury to my hand. That same hand was injured quite a few times before and I was told that I had a 5% chance of it healing normally and that, if it didn't, I'd have to relearn how to do everything—EVERYTHING—with it again. Handwriting, drawing, opening, closing, etc etc.

Thankfully the Force was with me and I have recovered! Back to writing!


End file.
